Your Most Precious Possession | April 1, 2020

 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

1 Peter 1:7

In vs. 6-7 we have been looking at both the reality of painful trials in our life and their role in showing us the true nature of our faith. Peter said that it is through trials that the genuineness of our faith was revealed. 

In vs. 7 he also gives us an insight into why we should want our faith to be tested. It is because your faith is the most precious thing in your life. 

Peter says “genuine faith is more precious than gold.” It doesn’t go far enough to say that your faith is important or even highly valuable. The word used here for precious is often used to signify the most precious thing in someone's life. For example, in Matthew 13:45-46, Jesus tells a parable of a merchant who came across a pearl of “great value,” the same Greek word used in 1 Peter 1:7. The merchant in the parable went on to sell everything he had to purchase that pearl. It was so valuable that the man was literally willing to sell everything to obtain it! 

Peter says this is the kind of value you should place on your faith. There is nothing in your life more important, more valuable, more precious, and there is nothing you should be unwilling to forgo for the sake of your faith. There is no possession or person more critical to you than the faith that unites you to Jesus Christ.

Given how important our faith is, we should respond in two ways: testing and tending. 

Welcome Testing 

How utterly horrifying would it be to go about your entire life only to find out that your faith was never really real. Jesus warns in Matthew 7:20 that many will say to him, “Lord, Lord,” only to find out that Jesus never really knew them. In 2 Corinthians 13:5, Paul says that we ought to “test ourselves to see whether or not we are in the faith.” This kind of testing is not easy, but it is necessary. 

The lowest point of Peter's life was without a doubt that cold night where he denied his Lord three times. Peter would never want to revisit that experience, but given what he says about the need for our faith to be tested in 1:7, I’m sure he was thankful for that night. That trial revealed what was really going on under the surface and was used to authenticate Peter's faith. 

As believers we need not ask God to put us through trials; in fact, he invites us to pray “lead us not into temptation.” However, when trials come, we can welcome them knowing they are ultimately being used to purify and solidify our most precious possession. 

Engage in Tending

For many people, their most precious possession is their house. Given how important their house is, they will invest tens of thousands of dollars and countless hours into improving their home. After all, money and time spent on your home is a good investment. When something is precious, we tend to it. 

How are you tending to your faith, particularly during this difficult season? It’s easy to have a “just get through it” attitude towards the pandemic and to fill our time with frivolous scrolling and Netflix binging. But couldn’t this also be a time to tend to your most precious possession? NOVA people constantly complain about not having enough time for important areas of their life. Well, in all the things the Lord has taken from us during this season, one thing he has given us in abundance is time. What if you used some of it to strengthen, purify, and bolster your faith in him? 

One way you can grow your faith during this season is to simply spend more time in God’s word. Romans 10:17 tells us that “faith comes from hearing the word of God.” If your faith were a plant in a garden, it would need a steady inflow of God’s word to grow. How could you take some extra and unhurried time to read and meditate on God’s word during this time? 

What about prayer? Engaging in prolonged and focused times of prayer is like putting your faith through a workout routine. When we pray, we are looking away from ourselves and our abilities and looking to the power of God. We are placing less confidence in what we can do and putting more confidence in what God can do, which is the very essence of faith. 

Allow the words in vs 7, “your faith—more precious than gold,” to raise the valuation you give to your faith. There is nothing more precious, valuable, or important in your life than the confidence and trust you place in Jesus Christ. Given how important your faith is, how can you strengthen it all the more in this season? 

Father, forgive me for placing so low a value on my faith. It is my faith that unites me to the Lord of the universe. It is my faith that receives your precious promises and blessings. There is nothing more important than this faith you’ve given me, but I so often prize other things. Lord, would you show me how you might be growing my faith through this trial? Would you show me how I can take advantage of this time to grow and strengthen my faith in you? Would you use this season to give me the kind of faith Peter describes in this passage.