S141P5 – More precious than gold: genuine tested faith
1 Pet. 1:3-7
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
He knew what he believed, and he never shied away from talking about that, but he lived in a rather incomplete world. His world consisted almost exclusively of other believers. Of course it would be easy for him to proclaim his faith and outwardly love the Lord around those people. When he grew to be a man and left the confines of home and church, the world was a much different place. Now, he would be challenged regarding what he believed because he was in the minority in the world. The test for him was not only how vocal he would be about his faith in this new environment but how well he would walk out those words. He could talk about faith, compassion, patience and perseverance, but could he practice them in a dark place?
It is not easy to have our faith in this world, and the reason for this is glaringly obvious. We live in a fallen world where people are instinctively drawn toward their sinful desires, where spiritual forces of darkness conspire to trip us up. Practicing our faith means going against the grain, and that will rub many people the wrong way. We will be challenged not only to defend our faith with words, but the way we act also will be scrutinized. People might try to get us to compromise or live a little, and this might seem innocent sometimes, but it is not. Those who love to practice evil will invite us to do the same, and it will take genuine faith to overcome the temptation and remain holy.
Our faith will be tested in many ways, and this is just one example. Sometimes faith will be tested by hardships, and we must decide whether to keep God’s instructions when it seems our own way might get us what we think we need. Those with strong faith will live as God commands even when it becomes increasingly difficult to do so in this world. Genuine faith is more precious than gold, and that is what the Lord desires to build in us. The construction process will take time, and it will not be easy, but the work product will be more than worth it. Father, help us to refine our faith so that it is genuine in your eyes, more precious than any riches we can imagine.