"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he gave us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, that is, into an inheritance imperishable, undefiled, and unfading. It is reserved in heaven for you." 1 Pet. 1:3-4.
Dad was always a faithful and hard-working employee in those days where company loyalty was a two-way street. He could have jumped from Taylor's where he worked to Kodak where at the time, salaries were significantly more, but he was loyal, and stayed where he was till he retired. On top of that, dad was a bona fide conservative, politically, religiously, and economically. He and mom invested, but were so conservative about it that I suspect they lost more than they gained. At the least, it didn't live up to their expectations.
So it was probably close to ten years ago that my father and I had the conversation about inheritance in which he apologized to me for not being able to leave behind a bigger pot of money, whereupon we had a little heart-to-heart. I told him that he owed us kids nothing; we had all the inheritance we needed in the home that he and mom had provided, the faith foundation they laid, and the security of never having to worry about whether he and mom would someday stop loving each other. They left us an inheritance far more valuable than any stock portfolio or bank account.
Peter's promise reminded me of that conversation. The inheritance of character, integrity, faith, and love dad left behind is not subject to the whims of the stock market, needs no fraud insurance. And my inheritance in Christ is as intangible as the legacy my dad left me, but has the same kind of lasting value. "Imperishable, undefiled, unfading" - that's what we have in Christ. It is forever, pristine, and just as new in a thousand years as it is today. I am tonight grateful for this invisible, valuable inheritance we have in Jesus Christ.
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