76. The Lord of Radiant Life
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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.
1 Peter 1:3–4P
EOPLEgroups throughout the world worship different kinds of
“gods.” An assortment of handmade deities graces altars from
Greece to Africa to Central and South America.
Oddly, the people who worship these gods are usually aware of
the fact that human hands have fashioned these statues. They may
even have made the gods themselves. Still they attribute superhu-
man qualities of character and personality to the lifeless idols and
worship them anyway.
Unlike people of other religions, we worship a living God. This
passage from 1 Peter is teeming with life. It is an expression of praise
to the Father of Life for his Son’s merciful gift of “new birth” through
his resurrection from the dead. It is a joyful celebration of our last-
ing inheritance in him.
Our inheritance flows to us from a Savior who was born into the