I have preached and taught that Christianity is a paradox. (Paradox: A paradox is an apparently true statement or group of statements that leads to a contradiction or a situation which defies intuition.) Peter apparently was a master at this. Reading 1 Peter 1:3-9 we see.
1) A living hope through the resurrection. Death brings life. We live in a world where we understand that life eventually brings death.
2) An inheritance that can never spoil. We know that anything we inherit will eventually fade away, need repair or will someday be worthless.
3) We are protected, by faith. Most people think that their good works will protect them. That a new age way of thinking (Hinduism)
4) Persecution produces faith. True, persecution produces pain - but what we do with that pain is the difference between a life of bitterness or a life of faith.
5) Even though we have not seen Jesus, we are filled with joy and rejoice because we are in His presence. We pay to go to a concert or to hear someone make us laugh. But to be filled with the greatest joy we have ever know by being in the presence of someone we cannot see?
6) The goal of faith is salvation. Most people are working very, very hard to go to heaven. That isn't our goal. Heaven is a given if we will simply believe, repent and live our life's for Him everyday.
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