"So
be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many
trials for a little while. 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. 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. The reward for trusting him will be the
salvation of your souls." --
I believe God is the Author and
Perfector of faith. We cannot initiate
faith by trying to believe in something.
The kind of faith that is generated by man's attempt will easily fail
and die out eventually just like a building built on sinking sand. Faith in the Bible is divine, active and
persistent. The Scripture clearly states
that we are saved by grace through faith.
Most people recognize grace as gift from God. It's not from us. But what about faith? I assert that if our
salvation is solely achieved by the power of God, which is His grace, our faith
should also be completely dependent on God. There is no way that disciples of
Christ were able to endure incredible hardships and persecutions with only
self-sustained determination and their will power. Verse 7 says, "These
trials will show that your faith is genuine." I believe that what Peter
meant by "genuine" is faith that comes from God, not from oneself.
Another noteworthy aspect of faith is
its potential to grow and be matured.
Faith is active and the source of strength for any actions. In the given
passage, it says, "It [faith] is being tested as fire test and purifies
gold." Gold must be tested with intense fire for an extensive amount of
time to become pure gold. In a similar
way, I believe that God allows us to go through trials and hardships for our
faith to be refined and built so that we may reflect the light and glory of God
in this world.
Lastly, this passage delineates the
Christian faith in verse 8 and 9; Having faith means loving him even though you
have never seen him and trusting him though you do not see him now. Ultimately, the manifestation of faith is the
joy and expectation of God's salvation of eternity in spite of trials and
tribulations that we have to face because of our faith in Christ.
The most eye-opening revelation
through this Scripture was God's sovereignty over our victories and struggles.
God starts His saving work in us by giving us faith in the Son of God. Then He allows hardships to cultivate our
faith and to glorify Him. Finally, He
grants the infinite gift of salvation to those who proved their genuine faith
in their lives. I love this incredible
involvement of God in His people to deliver them from the path of death and to
use them as the special utensils for His Kingdom and His glory.
Father, I thank you for giving me
faith in you. I also thank you for being
faithful to me when I acted according to my faith. There have been numerous occasions that
assured my faith and challenged it to grow.
I want to praise you for giving me not only this most precious gift but
also opportunities to refine and strengthen it.
Even though I still have many questions and some doubt about the way the
world operates, You have enabled me to overcome them by throwing myself to You
and Your cross. One thing I ask of you
is keeping my faith like a child in the midst of the growth and purification
process of it. I want to grow wiser and
stronger, but I do not want to be independent on you by being able to depending
on myself. It is the most fearful thing
I can ever imagine to happen in my life.
Please keep me humble and help me to acknowledge your grace that I
absolutely do not deserve. You raised me
from my spiritual death and have sustained my salvation by Your incredible
grace and mercy. My life is rightfully
Yours and let me be Your living and holy sacrifice to You. Please do whatever You wish to do for Your
glory according to the maturity of my faith.
In Your holy and mighty name I pray, Amen.
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