Meditation on 1 Peter 5.10-11 [Part 5]

‘… The God of all grace,

who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ,

will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.

To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.’

1 Peter 5.10-11

Our hope is in God alone.

The Lord is gracious toward his people. As we trace the arc of God’s providence through the Old Testament, we see that he is greatly concerned for his people. When Moses asks God to reveal his glory to him, God does that. He places Moses in a safe place, covers him and then walks by Moses. As he passes by he proclaims his glory with these words: “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin…” This is the characteristic of God that is celebrated throughout the story of God’s dealings with his people. God repeatedly rescues his people from their own transgressions. Even when he punishes them, he does it in order to bring them back into the covenant blessings.

The aim of that trajectory through the Old Testament is the glory of Christ. Again and again as God’s mercy draws his people back into that right relationship, we are pointed ahead to the coming of the One who will set everything right forever. We are pointed to the Seed of Abraham, God’s Choice for king, the Son of David, the Rock that shatters the world’s kingdoms. This promised One, the anointed One, the Messiah is the man, Jesus Christ, who came in fulfillment of all of the Old Testament. That is our hope as well: the eternal glory that we will share with Christ Jesus.

That is why we are confident that we will experience the strengthening, preserving power of the almighty God as we move toward that consummation. That is why even in the face of difficulty and trial we can rest confident in God’s grace. We know that, if we are God’s child, we can say with Paul, “For me to live is Christ, to die is gain.”