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Imperishable, Undefiled and Unfading
As I was making a list of some things around the house that needed to be taken care of, a dresser that needs repairing, pants that need mending, laundry that needs to be washed, it crossed my mind that this list will never be done, not really. There will always be something broken that needs to be fixed, something dirty that needs to be cleaned, something old and worn-out that needs to be replaced.
Any new thing that’s shiny and perfect and cutting-edge will one day be obsolete, out-of-style and falling apart. Even our own bodies are slowly breaking down and will eventually fail.
But we have been promised something that this natural process has no hold over. 1 Peter 1:3-5 says, “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.”
For those who belong to Jesus, there is expectation of an inheritance that God has reserved in heaven, keeping it safe where it cannot be touched by anything or anyone. It is imperishable, so it will never expire or be used up or end. It is undefiled, so nothing can mess it up or stain it or break it. And it is unfading, so its value never depreciates and it never becomes less glorious or beautiful.
Is my joy in my next purchase, my newest project, in my health or my beauty? I can have no expectation that those things will stick around; in fact, I’m certain that they won’t. But I can have “joy inexpressible and filled with glory” knowing that the One who has power over death and decay has promised me an inheritance that never ends.
