February 22

1 Peter 1:4—An inheritance incorruptible and undefiled, and that fadeth not away.

Yes, it is an inheritance. It is a free gift, and yet we have a right to it. We do not ask for it—we were born into its blessed privilege. The child that lies in yonder cradle, over which the coronet is emblazoned, may claim his broad ancestral estates simply by right of birth: and it is on that tenure that the saints hold heaven. By God’s great mercy we have been begotten again.

Oh, blessed heritage! Incorruptible! The gnawing tooth of decay cannot injure it. Moth and rust cannot consume, nor thieves break through to steal. No spendthrift hand can scatter or over-spend its treasures. Undefiled! Not a stain on its pure robes; not a freckle on its leaves; not a taint of miasma on its atmosphere. Into the city entereth nothing that defileth, or worketh abomination, or maketh a lie. That fadeth not away! To use the Greek word, it is amaranthine. Some of the fairest hopes that ever blessed human vision; the most delightful friendships; the most perfect dreams of delight, have faded and withered before our eyes. That never can.

It is kept for us, and we are kept for it. It is reserved in heaven for you.

"I have a heritage of joy,

That yet I must not see;

The hand that bled to make it mine,

Is keeping it for me."

Who by the power of God are guarded through faith.—The idea is that we are being brought through an enemy’s country under a strong escortas the women and children from Lucknow, between the double line of English soldiers, till they were safe from the onset of the Sepoys. We are not in heaven yet; but we are as safe as if we were.