Never to fade 1 Peter

To obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through FAITH for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 1 Peter 1:4-5

It has been a particularly hard week on this old body. It is weeks like this that I look forward to "imperishable" and "undefiled." I thank God for the time to reflect on His Word, to slow me down in mind as well as body. I fold down the corners of my Bible when I want to flag a verse for this blog. And the corner of this page was folded down. Hmmm...not a reference to be found. But then there was the word FADE.

I don't know about you, but fading has caused me to trash more than one piece of fabric or clothing. Long, long ago I bought a BUNCH of solid fat quarters, supposedly to make something Amish-looking,  I really am a tone-on-tone kind of girl. Those are fabrics that read a color, but consist of mottled or printed shades of the same color. They make the project look richer and make color matching a bit easier as well. So buying those solids was a leap of faith. I don't know how long those things sat out unused, but when the box of them surfaced at some point in a cleaning binge, I was glad that I never did use much of them. EVERY fold was faded. When the fabric was unfolded, the fading became more obvious. Well, cut around it, you might say. Nope...not this girl. Now you are reading the blog of the world's biggest cheapskate, but this cheapskate did not keep that fabric because I knew what would happen if that stuff was put into anything. Those dyes in that fabric were not stable, and the fading would continue, ruining the project that they were put into. If it faded that badly once, it would stay true to its nature and fade more when exposed to light. I was sad to toss it, but glad I hadn't gone ahead and invested time and effort into projects made with it. I now knew its nature and its future. I suppose there might have been ways to set the dye in the remaining hunks of fabric, but the risk was not worth it.

Other fabrics have faded due to direct sunlight. The lap quilt that I drape over the back of the sofa is another example. That thing is showing the effects of the sun to a lesser degree, even with UV resistant windows, but the light is still causing it to deteriorate, just more as a whole as opposed to the more obvious fading of a fold. Light just does that to fabrics. The more the light shines, the more the glory of earthly things fade.

It is like that with the Lord, too. He is light and He shines on us, and our glory, the things we have done or thought we had done that were “impressive” in any way fall apart. When compared with the Lord of Glory, our works are as filthy rags. We are called in Peter to be HOLY, and that Holiness can only come from God. We are instructed to conduct ourselves in fear during our stay on the earth, redeemed by the imperishable blood of Christ. The grass withers and the flowers fade. All of this earth and its glories are temporary, but the Word of the Lord and His love for us endures forever! We will be transformed, first in the renewal of our minds, then in our actions, and eventually, in our bodies. The worship we will bring to God will be whole and wholely acceptable. The glory of His light shining on us in THAT day will not fade us. The inheritance we receive will not wear out like money and the things it can buy. What does one pay to inherit something? Nothing. It is bestowed on a person by declaration of the giver. We have 3 times inherited little bits of things...once from parents, once from an uncle, and once from a long-lost relative somehow. The things that were paid off or purchased with that money...cars, sofas, house repairs...all have been either deteriorating or have been disposed of in some way. The car died, the sofa cushions are slightly torn from use, and the house is in continual need of repair. But the inheritance from the Lord will be the joy of His presence, the absence of the desire to sin and the consequences of the sins of our own or those of others, and the eternal crowns that we can present at His feet. The feasting will provide joy, not fill a hunger in our bodies and souls. The houses we will have will be used not to sleep and provide shelter, but to refresh our souls and provide private places for fellowship with the One who loves us. All these things will not fade, will not go out of fashion and be discarded like old clothes and rags. Everything will have eternal purpose, eternal beauty, and eternal praise for the Creator.

And our joy will not fade. It amazes me how I can celebrate the presence of His goodness one minute, and have it fade to doubt and worry the next. Oh, for the day when that joy does not fade, the trust does not fade, the peace and love do not fade. I am so thankful that God knows we are dust and that we are grass. We DO fade. We wither and shrivel and die inside and out, but reread that verse. We are protected by FAITH from even ourselves. We have a reservation...we have a glimpse of the inheritance, as we watch Jesus raised from the dead, He who was once not only faded in popularity, but snuffled out of life. But now He stands glowing brightly next to the Father. His light will never fade again, and neither will ours in that coming day. We will not be tossed out like faded cloth, but restored to the glory of His perfect creation. This is something only He can do...and we are blessed to be a part of it. AMEN!