Whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls. 1 Peter 1:8-9.
How excited are you in your salvation? How hopeful and anxious are you for the knowledge of salvation and what Jesus has done for you? Peter addressing believers he referred to as pilgrims and elect, noted their joy in believing in the revealed Christ. Not Seen but love, not seen but believing. There is a link therefore, between faith in Christ and the joy expressed in their daily living. The joy of the believing Christian is rooted in their faith. This brings a question in my mind; is the coldness, numbness or dullness we see among us Christians today due to lack of faith? Why is there no excitement about what Christ has done for us? Does it mean we really have not embraced Christ or Christ is not revealed to professed Christians individually in their inner consciousness. Not seem and not believing! Could the words of Ellen White be true today – “But many have not a living faith. This is why they do not see more of the power of God. Their weakness is the result of their unbelief.” Christ’s Object Lesson p. 145.
Proclamation of the salvation in the risen Saviour would not be a struggle to the believers. Soul winning and service to humanity would reveal the excitement and the unspeakable joy of the redeemed. There must be fruits of faith manifested in the form believers. The revealed Christ is an exciting news to a perishing soul, one that would transform their lives forever, giving them a purpose and burning hope.
Peter wrote of what he saw in the lives of the believers, he acknowledged their faith in Christ and how they expressed it. They had received the end of their faith—salvation. Wait, receiving that which they had not seen? is that not what faith is about? “By the exercise of living faith you can separate from everything that is not in accordance with the mind of God, and thus bring heaven into your life here below. Doing this, you will have sunshine at every step.” Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students p.233.
Timeless Principles 