“But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people; that you should shew forth the praises of him who has called you out of darkness into his marvelous light:” 1 Peter 2:9 KJV
Ok. I don’t know about you, but I’m by nature a very picky person, especially when it comes to things that directly concern me. On the one hand, I know exactly what I like and prefer. On the other, hand I can still value and appreciate things that other people hold dear but are not necessarily my choices. I suppose most people are like that. We are all different in many ways and that’s by God’s design.
When we choose someone or something from among many options, it’s usually after deliberate and sometimes exhaustive consideration of all available options. In other words, it’s not a capricious act, but one that is done with soberminded awareness of what our choice could and will mean in the future. What church we attend/join, what house we buy, what car, what group we join, who we will marry or if we will remain single, how our children will be educated and so on, our close friends, who we will trust, and to what or to whom we will pledge our allegiance, and most importantly Who we will serve, God or other?
Now consider this. You and I are a chosen generation. Chosen by God to be born when we were and to be alive and living for Him in this very moment in history. Can you grasp the profound implications of that? Whatever He requires and desires to be conveyed to this generation He has equipped us to deliver in this time. From our birth up to this moment and beyond, God has been preparing and equipping us to fulfill His eternal purpose in and through us now.
That may seem a daunting proposition that none of us can fully grasp, especially in this present post Christian culture. The Church, Christians, true believers are becoming more and more irrelevant, dismissed, mocked, and ridiculed by those in this current time, who have become so enamored with themselves that they have no need for God or those who server Him.
But we have been chosen and called to serve God in such a time as this. Whereas, in times past even the vilest of sinners still acknowledged the reality and sovereignty of God as the Creator. So, when the gospel was preached to them their hearts were softened and they by the thousands came to a place of confession and repentance to be saved. Today, here in our own country we hear reports that the preaching of the Gospel in some quarters is outlawed and branded as hate speech.
We have known of this in other countries that have been opposed to the gospel for many centuries, but never in this country until now. Some may think it is too hard to follow Jesus and speak forth the Gospel because of the threat of persecution and rejection they will inevitably encounter. But we should not be surprised or shaken by this, because Jesus told us that such times would come.
“These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” John 16:33
The world is more hostile to the preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ now than ever before. Christians, who openly oppose and speak out against sin that has been legislated as lawful, are immediately branded, and vilified or worse, violently attacked by those who defend sin rather than acknowledge God by confessing their sin, repenting, and seeking God’s grace and forgiveness.
Some in the Church have separated themselves from the truth of the Gospel to align themselves with the hostile world, embracing lies and deceptions and embracing sin as normative in the hopes of avoiding the persecutions to come against those who hold fast to the uncompromised declaration of the truth of God’s Word.
There is a line from the musical Fiddler on the Roof where Tevye, after encountering one struggle after another over and contemplating the history of the Jews since the first scattering of the nation which he and his people seem to have absolutely no control over, looks up to the sky and says to God.
"I know, I know. We are Your chosen people. But, once in a while, can't You choose someone else?"
Yes. Israel was chosen to serve God through the Laws of Moses. Their disobedience to that Law brought on them the penalty of the Law. But we have been chosen and saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ to serve God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength in love. We have been chosen to be a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people unlike any other, to praise and worship God, who has called us out of darkness into His marvelous light. Now we are the carriers of that light to the world. But we are not to hide that light in silence or in whispers among ourselves, rather, we are to shout it, proclaim it, sing it, declare it, demonstrate it, and import it from heart to heart.
In human terms, we are uniquely priceless in the Kingdom of God. We were not randomly selected nor are we the children of brute chance and accidental circumstance. We are chosen, set apart, made holy and sanctified for His service. Our salvation is not ordinary or routine. It is an extraordinary miracle that has been deliberately, intentionally, and decisively, given to us, each one uniquely by Jesus Christ our Lord.
So, you and I don’t have to grasp at anything to make us significant or valued in relationship to anything in this world; not education, not business success, not wealth, not beauty, not youth, not great talent, not stuff, nor anything this world’s people strive to attain to give them value and significance. We already have the ultimate value and significance that can be known in this life by virtue of God’s priceless gift of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, freely given to us.
Therefore, hear and believe what the prophet speaks to us. We ARE a chosen generation. Chosen to be God’s people now in this time, in this place; to speak His word, to live out His life in us, to be blessed and to be a blessing.
We are here now by His divine plan. Let us, therefore, seek to know and use our gifts to bring his will to be done on earth as it us in heaven, and be thankful.
Praise God from Whom all blessings flow!
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