On a recent vacation to the mountains of Virginia, there was an old cemetery close to where we were staying. I stopped by it one day looking at some of the older tomb stones checking the dates written on them. While doing so, an older gentleman stopped by wondering if I had a relative buried there and if he could be of any assistance finding their grave. I told him that I was just admiring some of the old tombstones, fulfilling my love for history.

He shared with me about several of his ancestors that were buried there, which led me to sharing about where many of mine were buried in this mountain region.

Our conversation ended up with our spiritual heritage and our common faith. The last words spoken from him were, “The next time I see you will most likely be in heaven, then we can talk some more.”

What this man was saying to me was that because we have a common faith and a common hope then there will be a day when we will experience the fruit of both which is eternal life. Peter talks about this hope in 1 Peter 3 where he says, “According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, an unfading, kept in heaven for you...”

The great news is that this hope is offered to all of us and can be ours through a personal faith in Jesus Christ.