1 Peter 1:18-25
18 For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. 20 He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. 21 Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.
22 Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart. 23 For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. 24 For,
“All people are like grass,
and all their glory is like the flowers of the field;
the grass withers and the flowers fall,
25 but the word of the Lord endures forever.”
And this is the word that was preached to you.
God’s Word: Life-giving & life-changing
How familiar are you with grass? Over the past three summers, I worked on the grounds crew at my seminary in Wisconsin. I became very familiar with grass during those years: spending hours every week on the mower, adding soil and seed and fertilizer to dead patches, watering dry spots day after day. I put a lot of effort into maintaining the grass of our 80-acre campus and making it look beautiful and green all summer. But none of that mattered by the middle of November. Inevitably, a blanket of snow would come and cover the fields of grass. What was once green and lush would wither and die. If you take care of your own yard, then you know what I’m talking about. Grass sprouts in the spring and grows during the warm summer months. It’s so nice to look at and to feel under your feet, but it doesn’t last. There’s no permanence with grass. What thrives for a season eventually will die.
Do you ever feel like grass? Are there moments when you get hit by the impermanence of life, when you feel just how temporary everything is? In our second reading for this morning from Peter’s first epistle, he compares human beings to grass. Like grass, we were all born of “perishable seed,” as Peter calls it. We spring up and grow green for a season, but eventually the time will come for us to wither and die. We can try our hardest to prolong life, to watch our diet and exercise our bodies, but such efforts are futile. There’s no real hope that we can somehow evade death, that sickness and disease won’t get us in the end. All we have to do is drive past a cemetery, and we quickly realize that we’re all headed for the same grass-like fate.
This was not how life was supposed to be. God made mankind far better than grass. Humans were created to live forever, to flourish in the sunshine of God’s loving presence. But sin disrupted the tranquility of the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve rebelled against God. They chose obedience to themselves and their own desires rather than obedience to the truth of God. They wanted to gratify themselves rather than serve each other or the God who made them. Because of their sin, they became like grass, perishable and temporary. And so began the long and dreadful heritage of mankind: each generation, passing down an empty way of life to the next, a life apart from God, a life lacking sincere and lasting love. Like Adam and Eve, we often do what we think is best for us rather than what God wants us to do. We’d rather look out for our own needs than show love or concern for those around us. We have rebelled against God, and for this, we deserve to die. Like Adam and Eve, our sins have made us like grass: our bodies will wither and die, and our souls are in danger of hell fire.
As a worker on the grounds crew, I didn’t cry over dead grass. There was 80 acres of the stuff! Besides, I could always spread more seed to replace what had died. Dead grass is no big deal. Do you think that’s how God feels about us? Why would he care about me, a single sinner, when there’s billions of other people on the planet? Why would he value me, when I’m the one rebelling against him and causing my own death? Shouldn’t he just let me die and move on?
As small and unworthy as we seem because of our sin, God still values us. He created us to live with him forever, and even though we ruined that, he’s still determined to make it happen. He’s so devoted to us, he values us so much, that he gave up his own Son for us. Through Jesus’ death, we have been redeemed from our empty way of life, rescued from the fate handed down to us from our ancestors. Jesus paid the price needed to save us from sin and death—not with gold or silver, but with his blood. His sinless blood removes our sinful stain. The blood of the eternal Son of God grants us eternal life. That’s how much God values you: he sacrificed his own Son for you! Your parents handed down a worthless life, but your heavenly Father has filled your life with value through Jesus’ death.
What good news! We have a God who values us, who wants us to live with him forever and has already done everything to make that possible. That’s what makes the Bible so important! It’s how God tells you all that he’s done for you. Without the revelation of Scripture, we wouldn’t know that our way of life was a problem. We need to hear how empty our lives were, that we were headed for eternal death because of our sin. Without the revelation of Scripture, we wouldn’t know where to turn for help. We need to hear just how much God is devoted to us, to receive the good news of redemption in Jesus’ blood. It’s as if we have been born all over again through the Word of God. We were originally born from our parents, born into a perishing, empty life. But God’s Word gives us rebirth, birth into an enduring, valuable life. As you came to church with your parents all those years ago, sitting through the service, attending Sunday School, you were reborn as Jesus was revealed to you. Your life completely changed as you walked through Bible Basics for the first time and dove into the Scriptures on your own. Even today, as I stand here and proclaim Christ to you, the Word of God is at work in your heart, making you alive in Christ, giving you birth into eternal life.
God’s living and enduring Word has given you life, dear Christian, but it also changes how you live your life. Think of a bedridden patient, who’s been confined to the hospital 24/7 for over a month. The doctors are doubtful she will ever recover, and she’s given up all hope of ever making it out of the hospital. One day, her family comes to visit her, and as she is tearfully saying goodbye to them, not sure when or if she’ll ever see them again, all of a sudden a doctor bursts into the room and tells her not to worry: her latest test results are off the charts! She’s going to make a full recovery in no time. Her husband won’t be a widower; her children will still have a mother! What will she do with that news? Will she keep lying in the hospital bed, saying sad farewells and fixating on death? No! Tears of sadness are replaced by tears of joy. She can’t wait to get out of the hospital, to be the best wife and mother that she can be with the time she has left. Because of the doctor’s news, her life has completely changed.
That’s what the Bible does for all who hear it and take it to heart. It’s the good news that dying sinners needed to hear! God’s Word doesn’t give us rebirth into the same empty life we were living before, but into a new life. We take this good news, this new life in Christ, and we live lives of faith that reflect the truths we have learned from God’s Word. The Bible tells us that Christ has cleansed us from our sins. In response, we purify ourselves from all sinful behaviour. We were redeemed from our empty, sinful lives, and we never want to go back. The Bible shows us the immense love of our heavenly Father for us and for all people, a love that moved him to give up his Son. In response, we love one another in the same way that God loved us—freely, deeply, sincerely. We share the love of God with others so that they too may see how much God values them and what he has done to save them from their empty lives. Purified Christians living purified lives, beloved children of God showing love to each other—that’s the life changing power of God’s Word!
As human beings, born from sinful parents who passed their sinfulness to us, death is still our fate, and we will pass death to the next generation. In that respect, we are still like grass. But as Christians, we also pass on something far greater: a heritage of hope, drawn from the Word of God. The death we die is not a permanent one—Jesus’ resurrection assures us that we too will rise. Though death brings us grief and trouble, we can find comfort and hope in God’s Word. It’s all we need to make it through this grass-like life to eternal life. It will always be there to strengthen and support us through the hard times. From age to age, the Bible has survived as the source of hope for God’s people. Thank God that he has preserved his Word for us today! No one can take it away or destroy it. The Word of the Lord endures forever, and with it our hope stands secure.
So cherish your Bible. It is God’s very own Word, living and enduring forever! He has given it to you as a heritage, so that you pass it on to the next generation. It has life-giving power, as it reveals your redemption through Christ’s blood and gives you rebirth into eternal life. It has life-changing power, prompting you to purify your heart, to love one another, and to put your hope in God. Through all the changing seasons of your life, whether the grass is green or starting to brown, cling to God’s Word. Know it well, live according to its truth, and put your hope in its promises. It stands forever, and by God’s grace so will you. Amen.