Chosen, royal, holy- for reasons beyond blessing
Two little words written by the apostle Peter, in his first letter, made all the difference in a pivotal thought that was entirely different from any traditional understanding of who God’s people were. Do you know what those two, little words are? “But you…” Until this point in time, there wasn’t really an understanding of who a believer in Christ was, mostly because so many had either been saved from hedonism (Gentiles) or from living under Old Testament laws (Jews). Peter was trying to teach by painting a picture of “spiritual houses”, anchored by the “Chief Cornerstone”, Jesus Christ – people who would now be identified by their “followship” of Him.
If you have chosen to accept the calling out of darkness into His marvelous light, you have a responsibility to let the world know!
This was in contrast to those who Peter knew would “stumble because they are disobedient to the word, to which also they were appointed.” (1 Peter 2:8) Everyone in “the world” was appointed or destined to follow Christ, because He died for all. That is Basic Christianity 101! (John 3:16) But not everyone has chosen to accept that calling. But you. “But you,” Peter wrote, “are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may declare the praises of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.”
All humans were created to worship God– whether they choose to or not. But you. You, who have chosen Him, you who are now a son or daughter of the King of Kings, you who are made holy and acceptable to Him through Jesus Christ, are His, and now- it is time to worship! We declare Jesus Christ to the world when we praise Him. It is prophetic, and it is powerful and it is with purpose: To be a living witness of the goodness of God. Think about this: If all we ever did was worship at church on Sunday, among other Christians, or if all we did was witness on a street corner or go on mission trips, we wouldn’t be going out fully equipped. Praise and worship, among the nations (Psalm 18:49) is part of the testimony of Jesus Christ that must be utilized as well because of its tremendous spiritual power!
Though for today
Remember what life was like for you when you didn’t have Christ? Remember the pain? The despair? The darkness? The hopelessness? If you have chosen to accept the calling out of darkness into His marvelous light, you have a responsibility to let the world know! This is how the Kingdom of God grows! This is how we rob hell to populate heaven! “…so that you may declare the praises of Him.” When the worlds sees that you, a real person with real needs, real circumstances, real relationships, real faith and real victory is praising God no matter what, that is like a beam of light into their own darkness! So, let the world watch you sing when things are hard. Let your co-workers, family members, friends and even strangers hear you sing to yourself with joy. Make worship your lifestyle and it will be your natural response. But you. You’re different- today, let it show!
