October 9
“The genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith – the salvation of your souls,” 1 Peter 1:7-9.
Our Christian faith is tried and tested often, and if it endures the test, it is soon obvious whether it is genuine or fake. Genuine saving faith is more precious than costly materials such as gold, whose quality can be tested by fire to see if it is genuine. Though gold might be genuine, ultimately it is going to perish on the Day of Judgment, when, “The elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up,” 2 Peter 3:10.
Our Christian faith gives all praise, honor, and glory to God, who loved us sinners so dearly that He sent His only begotten Son into the world to save us. To the Romans, the apostle Paul wrote, “When we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us,” Romans 5:6-8. Jesus did not die to save perfect people; He died to save all sinners!
Our saving faith rests upon God’s revelation of the life, death, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus, His Son and our Savior. Until now, we have not seen Jesus with our physical eyes. However, we have seen Him by faith in the revealed Gospel in Holy Scripture.
This reminds us of the apostle Thomas, who was not present when Jesus appeared to the other ten disciples (Judas was dead) on the first Easter evening. When the other disciples told Thomas that they had seen the Lord, Thomas said, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe,” John 20:25. A week later, Jesus appeared to the disciples again, and He said to Thomas, “‘Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.’ And Thomas answered and said to Him, ‘My Lord and my God!’ Jesus said to him, ‘Thomas, because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed,’” John 20:27-29. In those final words, Jesus was speaking of us. We have not seen, and yet we believe!
You and I love Him whom we have not seen. Though we have not seen Him, yet we believe in Him as our Savior from sin, death, and the power of the devil. Knowing that we will see Jesus in heaven, we rejoice with joy inexpressible. We give all glory to God for calling us to faith and for keeping us in the faith. We rejoice knowing that in the end, we will enjoy eternal salvation with our resurrected bodies reunited with our souls.
“I know that my Redeemer lives;
What comfort this sweet sentence gives!
He lives, He lives, who once was dead;
He lives, my ever-living Head.
He lives to silence all my fears;
He lives to wipe away my tears;
He lives to calm my troubled heart;
He lives, all blessings to impart.
He lives and grants me daily breath;
He lives, and I shall conquer death;
He lives, my mansion to prepare;
He lives to bring me safely there.” Amen.