May 27, 2011
“But you are the ones chosen by God, chosen for the high calling of priestly work, chosen to be a holy people, God’s instruments to do his work and speak out for him, to tell others of the night-and-day difference he made for you—from nothing to something, from rejected to accepted.” 1 Peter 2:9-10 The Message
Your real identity …?
You’ve been called into a life that can only be explained by Christ. He found you and began the patient work of opening your heart and mind to receive His sheer love. He wasn’t in a hurry. He knows exactly how you’ve lived your life without Him and He is about something much larger. God’s called you to live and share the “night and day difference” He’s made in your life. Why you…? Because He loved you and He made a promise to Abraham and God keeps His promise .. even when you (and they) didn’t believe Him or tried to do it on your own. Living on your own only leads to slavery. It can look like a very comfortable slavery .. a well-appointed slavery .. an endless hopeless slavery .. and just an everyday slavery within yourself and the things that fill your life. We don’t call it slavery. We call it the human condition and that way everyone gets to “make” their own paths to freedom. It doesn’t lead to freedom but we can convince ourselves that trying is better than nothing and pretending is better than admitting defeat. You’re real identity as a follower of Jesus is being His living representatives in every arena of life. They won’t recognize you as a priest .. but He does. They probably won’t call you holy .. but He does. You might not see yourself as His instruments of reconciliation .. but He does. You’re God’s unique possession found and formed in Christ to tell others that there is a way out of the darkness. Yes… you are part of God’s holy business of reaching men and women who feel like “nothing” on the inside. God really does have a new identity for you and He really does want you to know it with all that you are. Because all that you are is All that He is! He’s not in a hurry .. but you’ll find that Jesus will meet you in the moments of your day …
“God wasn’t attracted to you and didn’t choose you because you were big and important—the fact is, there was almost nothing to you. He did it out of sheer love, keeping the promise he made to your ancestors. God stepped in and mightily bought you back out of that world of slavery, freed you from the iron grip of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Know this: God, your God, is God indeed, a God you can depend upon. He keeps his covenant of loyal love with those who love him and observe his commandments for a thousand generations. But he also pays back those who hate him, pays them the wages of death; he isn’t slow to pay them off—those who hate him, he pays right on time.” Deut. 7:7-10 The Message
Ken Chester: Grace-Gripped is sent M-F to Sheer-Loved-Chosen-Somethings following Jesus and friends of Priority One (ken@priorityone.org)
