It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. (1 Peter 1:3-4)

Read: Ezekiel 44:1 – 45:12, 1 Peter 1:1-12, Psalm 119:17-32, Proverbs 28:8-10

Relate: “That’s why we don’t have nice things.”

A picture had come crashing down to the floor. The glass had shattered and the frame itself was bent beyond repair. I had not yet come back into the living room when my mom had come storming in from another entrance, hands on her hips. My two little brothers were guiltily staring at their feet. If I had heard it once, I heard it a thousand times. “That’s why we don’t have nice things.” It was a bit of a sarcastic statement because the real reason we did not have nice things was because we were borderline poor and we were not by any stretch materialistic. Even so, I would guess that replacing the things me and my three brothers broke with regularity took up a much larger chunk of the family budget than any of us would have liked.

I had one of my brothers hold the dust pan while I swept up the glass and then we were all ushered outside where we started up a game of pole soccer. Twenty minutes later, crash, that soccer ball went crashing through the living room window. OK. Not really, but wouldn’t it have been funny if it had? It was just as true in our family as it was in any other: growing boys break stuff. Once we are all grown, we still break stuff but now we usually have to pay for it ourselves. Ladies, don’t even think that you’re off the hook. I’ve seen one of you drive out of a garage before opening the door. I’ve seen a woman try to run a red light because she was checking her makeup in the rear view mirror. Too bad the car in front of her (me) wasn’t planning on running that same light.

React: Even when it is unintended, things break. We break and we break down. I have a knee that has been feeling drastic weather changes ever since my sophomore year of high school. I have just recovered from more than two weeks of not having a voice. I stayed up all night a couple days back watching the entire season of one of those Netflix Marvel shows. As a result I have been dragging ever since. All I want to do right now is go to bed (which I will be doing early tonight). My arms and chest have been sore all day from a too enthusiastic workout this morning. If this wasn’t bad enough, I’ve already suffered through two colds this school year. As soon as one thing disappears, the next seems to be starting up.

This body is frail and fragile… and it will soon be traded in for an upgrade. I have a priceless inheritance in heaven waiting for me. It is being kept in mint condition in heaven for me because here on earth things deteriorate. It is being held in reserve because we on earth tend to hold the familiar in contempt. We take the great things we do have for granted. So God is holding it in store for me. It is beyond the reach of this changing and decaying world. No amount of throwing my brothers across the living room on to the couch will bring it crashing down. No amount of staying up to late, reckless risks, or random chances will wear it down. It is given by His grace and held by His mercy and that alone is greater than anything this fallen world can throw at it.

Respond: 

Dear God,
I am so thankful that You have redeemed this chipped, broken, and stained jar of clay that is my life. I am so grateful that You have stored up an inheritance for me that is beyond any price. I am even grateful that You are holding it in reserve, because I am not yet ready to treasure it, to treasure You as I should. Keep working on me. Keep molding and shaping me and even breaking me down until I have fully become what You want to make of me. I look forward to the day when I receive that inheritance. I eagerly wait for that day when I see You as You are.
Amen