“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead…” (1 Peter 1:3)
We tend to use the word “blessed” after someone sneezes — “God bless you!” — or when someone receives a special gift — “Wow, they were really blessed!” But look at 1 Peter 1:3, which says, “God is blessed” [fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][emphasis added]. It literally means God ALONE is blessed, praised, honored, exalted, and glorified. He ALONE is worthy because He has poured out and freely given us His great mercy so we could be born again, saved from the bondage of sin, and freed from the tyranny of the devil and the demonic forces. How shallow we are to diminish our daily expectations of Him after receiving such mercy!
Yes, He is to be blessed above anyone and anything, for He has given us this incredible gift of mercy. We can think of this mercy as God holding back His judgment from us — even though we deserve the full consequences of our rebellion. Instead, God poured out His judgment on our Lord Jesus Christ in full payment for our sin. That is God’s rich mercy, and that is why He ALONE is to be praised, honored, exalted, and glorified through our lives.
The mercy of God also gives us “living hope” in a relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ. This is not a false hope, like when we say, “I hope my team wins this weekend,” or, “I hope it doesn’t rain tomorrow.” No, this hope is sure and secure.
We know we belong to God Almighty as children, but we often live as though we’re unworthy, unwanted, or even abandoned. In Romans 5:5, we see that “hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” Our hope in God, through our Lord Jesus Christ, will NEVER fail us and will NEVER disappoint us because God WILL fulfill His perfect plan and purpose no matter the circumstances we face or overcome in this life. Therefore, our expectation should always be high, for our hope is everlasting and ever-living.
The students and leaders in our ministries will better understand the depth of God’s gifts of mercy and hope when we walk in these truths. We must be actively praising, honoring, exalting, and glorifying our Lord, fully believing we have received ALL of His mercy. We must show our students and leaders that we are God’s children, that our hope is secure, and that our lives have meaning because of His hope in us. Our lives speak volumes to those around us. Let’s make sure our lives are speaking well of who we are in Christ.[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]