I have talked about this verse before, but it is one of my favorite:
But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: 1 Peter 2:9
We are chosen by God to be His people; I don’t think we ever quite let that sink in. God has picked us, He wants us. I do it still, but that should make it hard for us to walk around with our heads down singing Nobody knows the sorrows I have. God loves us and picked us special; that should be all the confidence we need to do the work for Him. You remember in grade school when they would choose sides for kickball? When you were chosen you were overjoyed and you played your heart out to make sure they knew they made a good choice. Similarly when we are chosen for a job or to attend a prestigious school we work hard to show that we wanted it. We are chosen by God and we should show Him that same respect. It’s so easy to just sit around and do nothing, but we are sitting around and doing nothing for God.
The word peculiar here means property. We were in debt and God bought us with Jesus’ blood. We now belong to Him. I have a lot of people tell me that’s crazy why would I want to be owned by God? I got great news for you; if you are property of God then sin no longer owns you and you are destiny is written – an eternity with God in Heaven. If we are still property of sin our destiny is also written – an eternity away from God in hell, but you can change that.
So now I belong to God, what do I do. We live for Him – it’s that simple. The verse here says to show forth praise and praising God is a great thing. The Greek translation means moral goodness. That is do good for Him. Praising Him and thanking Him is a part of that, but we should be good representatives of Him. The way others see us and how we act is vitally important. We should pull the lost individuals in, not drive them away.
The important lesson here is you have worth, not because you own a fancy house, drive a nice car, or have a high paying job. You have worth because God chose you and wants to have a personal relationship with you. Don’t let the world’s value system get you down, remember who you belong to.
Filed under: Devotion | Tagged: I Belong to God
