Many things in life require a reservation. Nice restaurants, especially on weekends and holidays, require a reservation to get a table. Some golf courses require a pre-arranged tee time (their term for reservation) if you want to play on the weekends. Certainly, vacation destinations are secured with a reservation in order to have a place to stay when you arrive. The apostle Peter tells us of a reservation we can obtain that will make all other reservations pale in comparison (1Pet. 1:4). When we truly understand the nature of this reservation, we should be motivated to do all in our power to secure it. The reservation to which Peter refers is…
1) An Inheritance. “There is now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit” (Rom. 8:1). Those who are in Christ are those who walk according to the Spirit, according to that which the Spirit has revealed… God’s word, “which also effectively works in you who believe” (1Thess. 2:13). This in turn makes them sons of God, “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God” (Rom. 8:14).
When one becomes a son of God through the new birth (see John 3:3-6; Rom. 6:4), one then becomes an heir of God’s promises, “heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ” (Rom. 8:17). That one now has an inheritance waiting for him/her, an inheritance promised by God.
2) Incorruptible. Any inheritance one receives as a child of earthly parents is of a corruptible nature. The value of any money, property, or other material possessions one might receive will come to nothing at death (or sooner). By nature, it is temporal, or corruptible. However, the inheritance one receives as a child of God is eternal in nature. God is eternal. The crown of life is imperishable (1Cor. 9:25). The resurrection body is incorruptible (1Cor. 15:50-54). The inheritance of the children of God lasts forever.
Jesus warns against laying up treasures on earth “where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal” (Matt. 6:19). Instead, He exhorts us to “lay up for (our)selves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal” (Matt. 6:20). We are to set our hearts toward that incorruptible inheritance.
Tim Butler