1 Peter 1:3-9 (NIV 2011)
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, 5 who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9 for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
Reflection:
Trials can bring grief, frustration, and discouragement. Yet they can also serve as a purification process where our faith is proven to be genuine. The testing process reveals what is truly precious and what will last, and everything else is left behind.
As our faith is proven genuine through trials, this passage affirms that we love Jesus more though we have not seen Him. We believe in and trust Christ the risen Lord, and we are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy.
Response:
Let’s thank God that our hearts and our faith can be purified through hardship. We can believe even more in His promises and trust in the power of His Spirit in our lives. Let’s ask the Lord to strengthen our faith even more in difficult times so we would respond with greater praise throughout and after the process.
