What Are You Expecting?

All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation..." - 1 Peter 1:3

Part of what it means to be a Christ-follower is that our expectations are high.

In the passage above, Peter is talking specifically about our expectation of an eternity spent with God, but Christian expectation is not limited to that, because the resurrection of Jesus Christ changes everything.

The resurrection reversed the curse of death and sin. It offered the possibility of forgiveness and new life. It insured that one day injustice, disease, and oppression will be overcome with justice, healing, and goodness. We can expect those things to happen.

But our great expectation is not limited to the end of earthly time. The power of the resurrection is real now, in real time.

We can expect that God will help us to overcome our failings and sins.
We can expect that our character will look more and more like that of Jesus.
We can expect that even the most difficult relationships can be good ones.
We can expect that no depression or addiction or disease has to win out.
We can expect the hardest heart to be softened.
We can expect that God will provide for our needs, even when we don't see how.
We can expect that good will win out, so we can choose the good without hesitation.
We can expect that we won't have to experience loneliness, even when we are alone.

All because God raised Jesus from the dead and makes that same power available to us, in individual ways.

Where have you given up hope and lowered your expectations?

Decide today to have great expectations based on your trust in the God who raised Jesus from the dead!