God’s Loyal Love For You

GOD’S LOYAL LOVE FOR YOU

Peter knew what it was like to fail in His faith and yet God not give up on Him.

My hope is, by the end of this article, you do too!

Peter writes in 1 Peter 1:3, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,”

Where does our salvation come from? Peter says, it first comes from “His (Jesus) great mercy.” Now mercy is an Old Testament Jewish image here that finds its significance in the Hebrew word for mercy, which is “hesed” which means “loyal love.”

This “hesed” is emphasizing that we are getting something we don’t deserve, but because of his love, loyal love, we receive this salvation, this new birth, new life. It gives us a living hope.

How does this living hope come to us? He tells us in verse 3, “Through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. He offers it to us through His finished work on the cross.

God wants to give you a rebirth in your life through the great mercy that comes from the finished work of Christ on the cross?

Have you ever done that? Have you ever received the “hesed” “the loyal love” of God that comes through Christ’s finished worked on the cross?

Maybe for the first time in your life today, you want to say to God, to Jesus,

“Lord God, I accept your finished work on the cross for me. I receive your “hesed”, your loyal love for me through Jesus who died and was resurrected to take away my sin.”

I invite you to receive the loyal love of God for you, today.

Peter continues…as he shares what is coming to you for believing in Jesus…he says in 1 Peter 1:4, “to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you,”

If you put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ’s finished work on the cross, God will give you an inheritance that will never perish, never defile, and never fade. It will be kept for you in heaven.

The inheritance AWAITS us. Many Christians believe the blessings of God should all come to them in the here and now. And the Scriptures are especially clear here, that we have a treasure, an inheritance that awaits us THERE.

God doesn’t want us to collect our inheritance here, for this life is not a place we want to be forever.

It is important that as we struggle in this life, we remind ourselves to anticipate the inheritance that awaits us.

Don’t live ultimately for the treasures of this life, don’t sell your soul short, anticipate the eternal treasure God has for you. Peter tells us, it is being “kept for us” in heaven. It is a guarantee. I like guarantees on investments.

Peter continues his encouragement in 1 Peter 1:5, “who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”

This is what we call long term delayed gratification. Your salvation will be revealed in the last time but in the meantime, it will be guarded through faith by God’s power.

What does that mean? It means you have a part to play, and God has a part to play. He plays the part of giving you the power and grace to believe, but you must choose to guard what He has given you by remaining in your faith.

Let me say it this way, “salvation is the eternal dividend of your faith through God’s powerful work through Jesus.” But you must choose to believe, and you must choose to by faith take the next step in your real relationship with Jesus Christ.

You must exercise your faith if you want it to remain, grow, and become all God intended for it to be through you.

You might say, “yeah, but it is just so difficult. Peter addresses this in 1 Peter 1:6, “in this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”

The more you exercise your faith the more famous Jesus becomes in the relationships of your life.

Your ability and opportunity to reveal God to this world will come during the most difficult times of your life. Faith is amazing, that is faith in the salvation the Lord has given us.

Acts of service done in convenience is easy. Acts of service done despite pain and suffering, is courageous. These issues that we face, Peter says, are to demonstrate to God and to this world, that we have genuine faith that can stand the tests of time.

If you knew without a doubt that the pain you are going through right now in your life is going to make Jesus more famous, could you press in? The answer is, Yes. And guess what, He is being made more famous because of your faith in the face of adversity. You can’t faith and it not impact someone, trust me.

You may not end up getting what you want, but you will get something better, every

time.

Peter wrestles in verse 8 with some of the wrestling we all face in the faith journey…look at what he says in 1 Peter 1:8, “Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”

If you continue to practice your faith in Jesus, it will carry you through the hard times. I didn’t say “around” the hard times, but “through” them.

Peter then challenges us in our salvation in 1 Peter 1:10, “Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, 11 inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories.

12 It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look.

As you go through the trials, testing, and temptations of your life, don’t lose sight of the importance of sharing your salvation in Jesus with others. This is paramount to seeing the hand of God fully at work in your life.

The only reason why you know what you know about this salvation is because people prior to you were faithful to communicate the unchanging, life changing message that Jesus Christ can change your life FOREVER.

There is so much bad news in the world. God wants us to share the good news. We all have opportunity to do so. May God give us the grace to be faithful to the salvation He has given us by His grace and hesed, “Loyal love.” And may it bring others to Him through our faithfulness to share that salvation with them.