| “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!” |
| —1 Peter 1:3 |
From time to time, as I think back on the years of my life and consider whether or not I have been as faithful a servant as I had wished to be, and as I look forward to the very few years I am likely to remain alive, a 1966 melody wafts through my brain. The song was written by Burt Bacharach and recorded by a number of artists including Cilla Black, Cher, and Dionne Warwick. It was entitled simply “Alfie” and was specifically written as the theme song for a movie by the same name.
This song has a haunting melody and the opening line asks the question: “What’s it all about, Alfie?” In those long-ago days of the mid-1960s, countless radio station airplays cemented this tune in the minds of the listening public. I never saw the movie, but I wonder if the first part of the question this song asks doesn’t trouble many people today: “What’s it all about?”
The Apostle Peter opens his first letter by answering that question for those who believe in the life-transforming power of the living Lord Jesus Christ. As we begin this new day, let’s meditate on what Peter wrote in 1 Peter 1:3-9:
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade.
This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.
In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.
Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
That is clearly the answer to the question: “What’s it all about?” Praise God!
Based on a blog originally posted on Tuesday, January 20, 20157
