We use the word 'safe' to describe a secure place for valuables. Sometimes this is a box in an office or even a home but of course, any determined burglar can find a way to break that safe. Do you remember the Hatton Garden Robbery? This was considered a really safe place to place valuables - the Hatton Garden Safe Deposit. In April 2015 this underground safe deposit facility in London was burgled by six elderly men who worked through the weekend of the Easter Bank Holiday to steel jewellery and valuables worth £14 million.
Those rich people who were paying to keep their valuables safe must have been horrified and devastated by the news.
By now you must be wondering where the wee guy from Ayrshire currently lining in Falkirk is going with this. You will not be surprised to find that I am using this true story which you will remember to unpack a verse from the Bible. The verse is from Peter's first letter and it follows on from the last Dayshare post on Wednesday 8th May.
To an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled and unfading, kept in heaven for you. [1 Peter 1:4 ESV]
In the last blog, I focused on the three words used to describe the inheritance and we thought about how this would be a comfort to those who heard Peter's letter being read out loud. They were refugees from Judea or Galilee and were living in what we now call Turkey. They had lost everything but they had an inheritance which could never be lost. Why is Peter so sure about this inheritance? It is because this inheritance is 'kept in heaven' and it has their name on it. The word 'kept' is the Greek word 'tereo' which is translated as 'reserved' in the King James Version. It means to guard from loss or injury by keeping an eye on. The robbery at Hatton Garden took place when there was no one keeping watch on that underground safe. The robbers worked out that this was the ideal weekend to carry out the robbery. Our God does not slumber or sleep and He will not be caught out by unexpected attacks.
Much has been said and written about the need to lay up our treasures in the bank of heaven. Read Matthew 16:19-21. Here is a wee video on this subject.
You might be saying that is all good and well, but what about the present? This sounds very much 'pie in the sky' - a phrase which I heard a lot in my younger days and did not like very much. The new Christians in the various parts of present day Turkey may have had similar thoughts. "What about us now?" We know that we have something to look forward to when we reach heaven but what about us today as we live our lives in earth as outcasts in parts of the Roman Empire. Peter reminds them that not only is their inheritance secure but they themselves are equally secure. They are being guarded through God's power. Their salvation and security does not rest with them. Peter reminds them of a future event when their salvation will be fully realised. But this does not mean that they are not secure at the present time. They are guarded by a much greater power than the might of the Roman Empire. They are guarded by God's power. The only thing expected of them was faith to trust in God. But their future does not rely on their feelings or the strength of their faith. It depends on the unwavering and constant power of God.
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