Chosen!
1 Peter 2:9-10
9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
Peter tells the early church that they are a chosen people, set apart as God's precious possession for His special purpose. Note he speaks to them collectively not individually. God sees them as a people, a holy nation. And he has chosen them not for the sake of themselves only, but to declare the praises of him who brought them out of darkness into the light.
Oftentimes attempts at holiness become individual pursuits for one's own reputation in the Christian community. But notice holiness is less about us and more about God. Holiness is God setting us apart for His purpose. Our holiness points to God and praises him not us. So we are given the gift of holiness, but that doesn't mean we have no role in God's work in our lives. There is still this concept called obedience.
In the following verses, Peter will exhort them to a call to holy living and abstain from their sinful desires. But today he gives them the foundation for that way of life. In a sense you might say it is living up to what they have already been given. They did not do anything to earn being God's special possession, but they can live out of that new identity.
As they face the pressures from within themselves and the persecution from the outside, it is this identity in Christ that will fuel the purpose God has set apart them apart for. A question to ask ourselves today is: do we live out of being chosen as God's special possession? Are we trying to earn our status before God by what we do, or who we are?
What does it mean for you to know God has chosen you and that are God's special possession? As you realize this you will reflect the light of Christ in a dark world.
9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
Peter tells the early church that they are a chosen people, set apart as God's precious possession for His special purpose. Note he speaks to them collectively not individually. God sees them as a people, a holy nation. And he has chosen them not for the sake of themselves only, but to declare the praises of him who brought them out of darkness into the light.
Oftentimes attempts at holiness become individual pursuits for one's own reputation in the Christian community. But notice holiness is less about us and more about God. Holiness is God setting us apart for His purpose. Our holiness points to God and praises him not us. So we are given the gift of holiness, but that doesn't mean we have no role in God's work in our lives. There is still this concept called obedience.
In the following verses, Peter will exhort them to a call to holy living and abstain from their sinful desires. But today he gives them the foundation for that way of life. In a sense you might say it is living up to what they have already been given. They did not do anything to earn being God's special possession, but they can live out of that new identity.
As they face the pressures from within themselves and the persecution from the outside, it is this identity in Christ that will fuel the purpose God has set apart them apart for. A question to ask ourselves today is: do we live out of being chosen as God's special possession? Are we trying to earn our status before God by what we do, or who we are?
What does it mean for you to know God has chosen you and that are God's special possession? As you realize this you will reflect the light of Christ in a dark world.
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