So many people live to die. They strive for noteworthy accomplishment that they might leave a legacy. They get while the getting’s good that they might be eulogized as someone who lived a full life. They lay up treasure in order to leave an inheritance. And this morning I’m reminded by Peter that the ways of the kingdom are so different than the ways of this world.

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.   (1Peter 1:3-7 ESV)

For the believer the end game is not about dying . . . in fact we’ve been born again to a living hope . . . we live to live to the full. Jesus is the conqueror of death and in Him we set our face on a future founded in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. For the saint, it’s not about conceding to the reality of an end, it’s about living in the excited anticipation of a beginning . . . not about perishing but about being promoted . . . not about saying goodbye to loved ones but about saying, See ya’ later!

For the believer it’s not about leaving an inheritance, it’s about coming into one . . . an inheritance that is beyond imagination . . . treasure of a type that literally lasts forever . . . having been made heirs of the very riches of heaven. Not an inheritance that I’ve earned . . . but an inheritance that is guaranteed based on the finished work of Another. Not an inheritance that reflects something of my worth . . . but riches that are sourced in grace and guarded through faith . . . to be surely revealed in the last time.

And what can I bring to the table? By God’s grace I can bring a “genuine faith.” Faith that is tested by trial . . . faith that is purified by testing . . . faith that, far from being a crutch, will result in the greatest of all treasures . . . that is, to hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” That there might be any measure of praise or glory or honor directed to a sinner saved by grace by the Sovereign Savior is absolutely amazing! That any reward might be given for seeking refuge in the Rock during the storm . . . that any recognition might be directed toward those who have sought the shelter of His wing during trials . . . that sheep running to their Shepherd might be factored into the kingdom’s compensation system . . . is grace beyond grace.

But the value of tested, genuine faith is of great worth to my King.

Oh, that my faith would be the real thing. That, through the enabling power of the Spirit within me, it would stand the test of trials.

That I might live to live. That I might strive for that which demonstrates the eternal legacy of the cross and the empty tomb. That I might live life and live it to the full such that He is glorified and glorified to the max. That I might lay up treasure in heaven so that when I come into my inheritance I would have crowns to lay at His feet.

Genuine faith . . . it’s the way the kingdom.