1 Peter 1:6-9

6 “So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while. 7 These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world. 8 You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy.”

As Peter reminds us of Christ’s resurrection from the dead and what is reserved for those who have a relationship with the risen Savior, we cannot help but smile at the wonderful joy we have in Jesus. The Greek word for joy here implies a forever joy, an out of this world joy, it is used in 1:8 to convey an “inexpressible and glorious joy” and again in 4:13 for being “overjoyed” at the revelation of Jesus Christ. This is a jubilant joy based on our journey with Jesus and His finished work.  As believers the best is yet to come, yet we so often forget to have a forward looking focus. It’s easy to get trapped by the temporary instead of the excitement we can experience through our eternal life. Peter tells us the truth about this life, we will experience trials and tribulations, but we don’t have to let them trip us up.  We can focus on the hardships or the heart of the Father, we can meditate on mercy or misery, on the challenges or the coming glorious culmination of our salvation. For those who have placed their faith in Jesus Christ the problems are not permanent, but the promises are. Today are you dwelling on the problems or the promises? We have an inheritance that is both reserved and preserved, pure and priceless. One that is not left to chance or change, free from the bonds of death and decay, and beyond our wildest dreams. So how should we respond to the wonderful work of our Savior? Peter says that we should rejoice in our redemption with an inexpressible joy. Our confident is not based on our circumstances but Christ and what is yet to come. Our souls can smile through the suffering because we have a Savior who is stronger than our sin and more powerful than our problems. Peter says that this is a joy that can’t be kept on the inside, it is not hidden by hurt, rather it is revealed through the rough times. As we experience and endure the trials of life God refines our faith and develops our inner strength. Preparing us for the most wonderful experience of our existence, our great personal encounter with Him, as we step from earth into eternity. Peter starts first with truth and them proceeds to talk about the trials, because God’s truth always trumps our trials. So, after beginning his letter with wonderful words of hope and encouragement, Peter proceeds with caring counsel for those who are facing trials and suffering. Peter knows firsthand what it is to face temptations and trials, I’m sure he remembers well the pain and disappointment of his denial of Christ. We are all tempted at some time to turn our backs on what we believe, to forsake our faith and fall away. Like Peter many have heard the rooster crow, revealing their failing courage and cowering fear. But Peter learned that God is greater than our grief, that God can use trials to bring benefits into our life. As Peter shares with a church caught in suffering, he reminds them that no matter what the journey brings we can have joy. That even though this life holds hardships, filled with sadness and suffering Christ is still in control. We rejoice because as Christians trials don’t define us, they refine us. We have a Redeemer that is renewing us and who will richly reward, the eternal gains of heaven will more than compensate our earthly hurts. Hardships can help, they don’t have to hinder and harden the heart, and instead trials teach us to be tender. They can enrich and develop our faith, which God says is more precious than gold. 

If the evidence of our love for Jesus is obedience, then we must examine our lives because looking for the evidence requires:

• The Examination of our love for Jesus

In Matthew 22 we read that after Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees came and questioned Him, one of the experts in the religious law tried to trick and trap Him: “Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law?” In verse 37 Jesus replied “love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 and the second is like it, love your neighbor as yourself.” It is here that Jesus summed up the entire law for He said in verse 40 “All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” If you want to know whether you really love Jesus then measure your life, your attitudes and actions against these verses. What about you, do you obey the first commandment, do you love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind? Many of us claim that God is first, yet we place everyone and everything else before Him. So, what place does Jesus have in your life? If we truly love the Lord, He will have preeminence in every area of our life. Look at the Ten Commandments that Jesus summed up. 1. ‘You shall have no other gods before Me.’ 2. ‘You shall not make for yourself a carved image–any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.’ 3. ‘You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.’ 4. ‘Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.’ If we really love the Lord with all of our heart, soul, and mind then we will not have any other Gods, we will not create idols, disgrace His name or dismiss His day. But how many today who claim to be Christians don’t pray, don’t worship and don’t read the Bible? We say that we love Jesus, but we don’t even talk to Him. What if I told you that I loved my wife, but I never talked to her, what would you say about my love? Today we claim that we love God, but we don’t even talk to Him. I do love my wife and one of the evidences of my love is that I communicate with her regularly. Now some of us may be feeling good right now because we do communicate with Christ, but only when there is in a crisis. What if the only time I talked to my wife was when I was complaining or when I needed her to do something, do you think she would view that as love? In Philippians 4:6 Paul says: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” And in 1 Thessalonians 5:18 “In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” When was the last time you called on Christ just to say thanks for who He is and what He has done? When was the last time you appreciated His mercy, grace, love, and salvation?  Today most of our communication with Christ revolves around our current crisis, because we are no longer consumed with Christ and His Will but the cares of this world. We say that we love the Lord but when was the last time you listened to the Lord? Do you allow Him to speak to you through scripture? Today most of the people who claim to be believers don’t even read their bible. There are some who argue over which translation of the Bible to use yet in truth they never even read the one they say is right. If the Bible is God’s infallible, inerrant and inspired Holy Word then why would we leave it sitting on a shelf? The Psalmist said in Psalms 119:105 “Your word is a lamp to my feet, and a light to my path.” While prayer provides a way for us to speak the Bible is God’s way of speaking to us, but how many of us are having åone-way conversations with the Creator? Does your love for Him cause you to listen, do you love His Word? Which did you spend more time on last week, studying God’s Word or scrolling through your Facebook feed? What is more important to you His truth or was is trending on TV and Twitter? When was the last time you lingered over the living Word and let God to speak to you about, His work in creation, His perfect plan that resulted in the sacrifice of His Son for your sins? When was the last time you listened to what He has in store for you when this life is over? Or what He calls His children to accomplish and avoid? We are privileged to possess a copy of God’s Word, it’s in our homes and even on our phones yet do we read it? Obedience is not a matter of rules it revolves around relationship. So how about you, after all the examination is there any evidence that you love Jesus?