Having stuff is great. Be it a new grill, a new car, a new house, or more money. We all love our creature comforts. And within prudence, these things connote a blessing to many other people and us. God can even use these things as tools to help people hear the Gospel of Jesus and be presented with the opportunity for salvation.
One thing that always comes with new stuff is the cost for keeping our stuff in good working condition and safe from thieves or changes in economic conditions. One of my grown kids cleaned out all the stuff in his home and reduced everything to a minimum, all the way down to having two knives, two forks, and two spoons. He wanted to reduce his things tax.
First-World Problem
One of the problems for those of us that live in a first-world country is how to protect our money. There are pre-tax savings (e.g., 401K), post-tax savings (e.g., money markets), and an abundance of financial instruments and counselors to design a way for you to keep and grow the money you saved.
Still, with all our careful maintenance and planning, we may lose all of our things. Poof! In an instant, they may be irretrievably gone. I know a person that lost their life savings because thieves broke into their house, found their hiding place, and took all of their money.
I’m sure you know where I’m going with this. Let’s turn to 1 Peter 1:3-5 and read:
3 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, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, 5 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.
The Holy Spirit led the Apostle Peter to speak to the salient points for protecting a thing of value:
God has given us an inheritance
What God has given us is an inheritance. Now I received a very modest inheritance when my dad passed away. Unlike my dad’s estate, we don’t have to figure out how to keep the value of God’s inheritance. Our inheritance from God is beyond valuation. It can never perish, spoil or fade. It can’t happen, but even if our inheritance from God lost half its value, Infinite divided by two is still infinite.
God also addressed the problem of protecting the inheritance we receive from God. Our inheritance is kept in heaven. No thief, government, or natural disaster can cause us to lose what God has provided us.
Okay, so our inheritance is safe, but can you be sure that you will get to heaven to receive this magnificent gift from God? Oh, God has that covered, too.
A Shield
Verse five assures us that “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.” If we use the faith God has given us, then we are shielded by God’s power. Let’s take a break here.
I’ve done a lot of work with P&C (property and casualty) insurance. Every insurance company that I’ve worked with either outright says they will be a shield for their customers or they strongly imply it. Even in the latest superheroes movie, they have heroes using shields. The idea of a shield connotes assured protection. It is not happenstance that verse five uses the concept of a shield.
God’s Power Is The Shield!
Now the shield referenced in verse five is not just any old shield. The shield is God’s power! There is no “connoting” needed. The shield that protects our inheritance is the very power of God. Checkmate.
God is so good to us. Each of us is so small and so transient. Psalms 144:4 states, “Man is like a breath; his days are like a passing shadow.” We are like a breath; nevertheless, God has elevated us by His love to a place not only of importance to Him, but God has showered us with blessings and an inheritance. Our God is truly beyond comprehension.
Photo by Tim Mielke on Unsplash
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https://rockexcavationservice.org/2019/04/25/whats-been-handed-down/