“Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere love of the brethren, love one another earnestly from the heart. You have been born anew, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God.”
1 Peter 1:22-23 (RSV)
After experiencing a conversion of faith when I was 19, I had a hunger for reading scripture. I read both Old and New Testament, praying as I read. In the zeal of being a new believer, I decided to memorize the entire first chapter of first Peter.
I imagined that if I was ever in a situation without a Bible, I could have this chapter planted in my brain. In those early days of my conversion, I felt so much of God’s mercy and grace, that each time I read scripture, it seemed like a love letter from my Savior to me. The theme of the chapter I memorized is what God can accomplish in us as we go through fiery trials. Looking back, it was well worth memorizing, since trials are used by God to purify our faith.
Peter starts this chapter telling us that we are chosen to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood. God’s salvation plan always ties in with obedience, and through our obedience, He renovates, renews and transforms us into the image of His son.
Our obedience is necessary for the renovation project, that Jesus, our designer, has in mind. We start by faith, but we haven’t fully arrived after a word and a prayer. It’s not magic, there is a life long process known as sanctification.
If we are honest with ourselves, our whole life has been part of our renovation process. God uses each humbling situation to teach us something, that makes us more like Jesus. Peter refers to fiery trials, and fire purifies. We may feel that we can’t go on in a difficult situation, but God knows we can and we will. In the process, He is bringing things to surface and purifying us.
God desires to help us move forward and walk in the right direction, but we may be hesitating in faith during our trial. He still loves us and as we obey, He will unfold His good plans for our future.
We are chosen for goodness, to be sanctified, set apart as His children. Paul says “we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:10)
Whether we feel it or not, we have always been held in the arms of Jesus, in His nail scarred hands, and He will never give up on our renovation process as we continue to walk with Him the rest of our lives.
Lord, help us not to be discouraged by fiery trials, but to hold firmly to your word, in faith, so that we may obey through our life long process of purification and renovation for your glory. Amen