Gospel
This week we are going to use our devotionals to go through a different one of our values or cultures each day, and to spend time thinking and meditating on what it looks like for us to live these out even in lockdown, in this unique time that we’re living through.
Pause:
Before you start reading this devotional, take a moment to stop what you’re doing, slow down and focus on Jesus.
Pray and ask him to open your eyes to see as you read the scriptures, and to open your ears to hear as you wait on the leading of the Spirit.
Read:
1 Peter 1v3-9:
“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, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, 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. In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 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 honour when Jesus Christ is revealed. 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, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”
Going Deeper:
We currently find ourselves living in very unusual times, where the reality of our everyday lives has been completely altered by the Coronavirus pandemic. In varying degrees we have all felt the negative effects brought about by this virus as it takes its toll on our world, and as we adjust to life at home.
For many of us the Coronavirus has placed immense pressure on us, our homes, our families and on our wider communities.
We may have had to grapple with reductions in income, job redundancies, fears for our loved ones health and safety, and missing out on special occasions and celebrations due to social distancing and the enforcement of the Lockdown period.
These have been hard and uncertain days.
As followers of Jesus we may have found ourselves wondering where God is in the midst of all of this chaos, suffering and confusion. We may have questions about why God has allowed this to happen.
We might be battling to apply the Gospel to this moment.
But scripture shows us that it’s through the lens of the Gospel that God gives us a true perspective on all of life, including these present days.
The Gospel is the good news of who Jesus is and what he has done for us. Through Jesus’ life, death on the cross and resurrection we have received forgiveness for our sins and reconciliation with God. It is through grace alone that we receive this beautiful gift of righteousness and redemption from God, as we put our faith in Jesus’ finished work.
This is the living hope that Peter is writing about in this text. Because of Jesus we have a hope that is eternal and a delightful inheritance that cannot perish, spoil or fade. This is the secure promise we can cling to when everything else is uncertain.
The Gospel is liberating because it enables us to face this time of suffering knowing that because of the cross God is absolutely for us, and that because of the resurrection, ultimately everything will be all right in the end.
As followers of Jesus we never want to move on from the Gospel.
The Gospel isn’t merely the starting point for us, it’s the foundation of our entire lives. The Gospel not only justifies us, it also sanctifies us shaping and transforming us to become more and more like Jesus. If we desire to be disciples of Jesus who are Gospel-centered, then this will require us to re-shape our entire lives around him and his message, letting it transform everything about us.
These past few weeks in Lockdown have revealed a few things in my own heart that are in deep need of the transforming work of the Gospel.
Being at home with the same people for days on end has shown me that I have an incredibly sharp tongue. Beforehand it was easier to get away with a few witty, albeit harsh, retorts because less time together meant less unhelpful comments in general. They were few and far between. But constantly being with the same people, in the same space, has revealed just how easily and quickly unkind words can roll off my tongue.
The difficulties that have arisen in our lives because of the virus and its effects has put pressure on me, and in doing so has brought to the surface a part of my life (my speech) that needs to be-reshaped by the Gospel.
Moments of hardship often show us what is really going on in our hearts, as the sin and idols in our lives are revealed.
We see that Peter refers to this in v6-7 by using the metaphor of gold being refined by fire.
Gold that has been extracted from the Earth looks very different to the Gold jewellery we wear or find in a store. In fact for most people a piece of unrefined gold would be unrecognizable due to the blemishes that mar its appearance. Yet even the most impure piece of gold has great value and the potential for immense beauty.
As the goldsmith places the gold in the fire it softens and melts but it is not destroyed. Instead the impurities in the gold burn off or rise to the surface to be skimmed off by the goldsmith, making the gold purer and more beautiful.
Throughout scripture we see the imagery of gold being refined as a picture of what God does in our own lives. God in the refining imagery is the refiner and we are the pieces of valuable unrefined gold. The cross shows us just how much God values us. He values us as he finds us, completely unrefined, but he loves us too much to leave us as we are.
The refining process is evidence of God at work in our lives. As weaknesses come to the surface and are removed by him, we become more and more like him.
It is important to note, however, that God is not punishing us for our sins when we go through hard times. The idea of Karma is dominant in our culture today and stands in direct opposition to the Gospel. It is the idea that suffering in the present day is a punishment, resulting from our sins in the past. Karma makes sure that no one gets away with anything and that everything is paid for. But scripture shows us that when we are in Jesus all our sins have already been paid for by him. His death and resurrection means that in him we are fully justified. We owe nothing, our debts are paid in full. In fact the idea of karma is disproved the most when looking at the life of Jesus who suffered immensely and yet was blameless.
Through the lens of the Gospel we see that God uses the grief and trials in our lives for our good and benefit, to cleanse and purify us, and not as a form of punishment. He takes the destruction and devastation in our lives and creates something beautiful from it, even when this seems entirely impossible.
Would we invite God to be at work in our lives during this time?
The purpose of this isn’t simply behavioural change in order that we become “better” people, but a deeper intimacy in our relationship with Jesus which leads to us becoming more like him.
Tim Keller writes: ““Suffering can refine us rather than destroy us, because God himself walks with us in the fire”.
Jesus’ sacrifice has given us the incredible privilege of being able to walk with God closely, and to enjoy a deep relationship with him.
Would we walk with God, prioritising spending time in his presence during this crisis, allowing him to sanctify us?
Would we be a people who have centred our lives around the Gospel and the message of Jesus, allowing it to re-shape and transform our lives?
Pray:
Respond to God in prayer by speaking to Him about what stood out to your from this passage this morning.
Listen:
What is the Holy Spirit saying to you right now?
Apply:
What are you going to do in response to what God is saying to you from the text and by the Spirit?