Strong, Firm and Steadfast
| And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. (1Peter5:10) |
Let's go through it phrase by phrase...
- The God of all grace: The God who sent His one and only Son when I definitely did not deserve it, the God whose mercies are new every morning.
- Calls me (yes me) to Eternal Glory in Christ. This Eternal Glory is not only Eternal Life but relationship with God the Father and with Jesus Christ. (John 17:3 "Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.")
- after you have suffered for a little while: Suffering will not last forever. Sometimes it feels that way, but suffering won't last. Death is a defeated bully, frailty is the playground tormentor that will meet its match and suffering is the pretentious antagoniser that will be unmasked. Hope is stronger than despair, love is stronger than hate, Christ is stronger than the grave. God has set the expiry date for all our bullies!
- This God, the God of Grace, the God who calls us to Eternal Relationship with Him and the God who has set the expiry dates on death, mourning, crying and pain (See Rev21:4) will be with us here and now making us strong, firm and steadfast.
Strong, Firm and Steadfast...
Spend the rest of the day reflecting on the meaning of these three gifts...
