Clay in the Hands

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,           1 Peter 1:3

A living hope.  Sounds good doesn’t it?  This morning I found those words very refreshing.

So often, I find myself reflecting back to a better time.  I catch myself thinking about a mountain top experience and relishing in the emotions of a time when all was well with God and with the world.  I think back to times when it seemed everything was going just right.  And then the phone rings or my In Box sounds and I am brought back to the reality of today.

But this verse this morning splashed cool water on my weary face.  In Jesus, we don’t have a hope that comes and goes.  We don’t just have to hold on to the memories of a mountain top experience.  We have a living hope.  A hope that is growing and maturing.  And this hope is made possible by God’s great mercy.

Our hope would be non-existent without God’s unspeakable mercy.  The two things are tied together – inseparable really.

You see, God’s mercy is not a single act at one moment in time.  It’s not like we were caught red handed doing something wrong and God decided to forgive us.  God’s mercy is always with us.  In fact, that might be the best way to describe it.  God with us.  When I think that God loves me enough to stay with me even when I do stupid stuff, I get a picture of that mercy.

And that is how our hope can stay alive.

God loves you and his mercy is real!

Live into today reflecting vibrant hope.