Far More Precious than Gold

1 Peter 1:6-7 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ,

As born again followers of Jesus, we need to change our perspective in respect to life on earth. Keeping in mind that we are pilgrims and strangers, and that this place is not our home, we need to view our circumstances from Heaven's perspective. With that said, why are our trials more precious than gold? Well, let's stop and consider this...what if we were allowed to gather as much gold as we wanted, while here on earth? At the end of our life, regardless of how many years the Lord allows us to have, can we take any of it with us? If after just a few months of having that gold, we are suddenly diagnosed with an incurable disease, will it matter how much gold we gathered? If we were told that by accepting the offer of gathering that gold, we forfeited our salvation, would it be worth it? Now stop and consider this...we are suddenly faced with trials and persecution, and in the midst of it we choose to trust the Lord. As a result, we bring our concerns to Him, and He gives us the peace that passes all understanding. Now we begin to rejoice in the midst of our troubles, and make ourselves available to serve and bless others. While we do all this, the Spirit works in us to make us more like Jesus in our response to life and dealing with others; all the while gaining more and more heavenly reward, as we win others to Christ, love our enemies, bless those who curse us, and continue to walk by faith. At the end of our life, as we live out our final moments, would we be willing then to trade what we are about to gain, for the perishable gold the world offers? I personally would not even give it a moment of consideration. Yet, this is exactly what we do. We trade heavenly reward, in the midst of tribulations, because we fail to trust God, and instead seek worldly solutions to challenging times here on earth. The rewards that come from enduring trials, with Heaven in view, are that we end up with something of eternal value to look forward to, but while we are still here we live a life that brings praise, honor, and glory to the Lord. That, my brothers and sister, is more important and valuable than any amount of gold we could ever gather here on earth. A life that truly honors Jesus is a life that will see more fruit in the area of winning others and personal growth in Christ. Let us change our perspective, and allow the Spirit to remind us, and show us, that our trials are not only temporary, but one of the best investment avenues we have toward gaining something more precious than gold...praise, honor, and glory for Jesus, and heavenly reward for us.

Today, God extends an invitation to you to accept His free gift of salvation (Rom 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus, by faith, in repentance, confessing your sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive His free gift of salvation today (Rom 10:13).