The Word, Faith and Salvation
July 11, 2009
“Jesus, unlike the founder of any other major faith, holds out hope for ordinary human life. Our future is not an ethereal, impersonal form of consciousness. We will not float through the air, but rather will eat, embrace, sing, laugh, and dance in the kingdom of God, in degrees of power, glory, and joy that we can’t at present imagine.
Jesus will make the world our perfect home again. We will no longer be living “east of Eden,” always wandering and never arriving. we will come, and the father will meet us and embrace us, and we will be brought into the feast. ” Timothy Keller; The Prodigal God p 104
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.9 for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls. 10
Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that
was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care (1 Peter 1:5, 9-10)
It appears to me that for Peter, salvation is future. IF we yearn for spiritual nourishment (1 Peter 2:2) we will grow into that final salvation that is being protected for us by God as we continue in our faith (1 Peter 1:4,5).
In other words, the “hope of salvation for ordinary life” is begun by faith when we first believe. Is it fair to say that birth is not a guarntee of an abundant and full life, but it does provide the opportunity. New birth is only the beginning, followed by a long, hard, joyous journey to salvation (future hope). Therefore we should strive to rid ourselves of sin and desire the word of God which nourishes our faith. It is only the faith that expresses itself though love that has value (Gal. 5:6).
Therefore today I want to feast on the word of God which nourishes my faith. Today I desire that my faith would express itself in love and I look forward to the day when my ordinary life has been restored.
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We will not float through the air, but rather will eat, embrace, sing, laugh, and dance in the kingdom of God, in degrees of power, glory, and joy that we can’t at present imagine.
I appreciate those words by Keller, Jamie and for bringing them ot our attention. I can indeed only imagine or see through a glass dimly what we shall be. The thought of doing life perfectly (with all the maturity that love for God and others can have+everything else that will surprise the socks off us) is worthy of hope, and prayer.