Chosen, Royal, and Holy

1 Pet. 2:9

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.

 

What blessings! Chosen, royal, holy, possessed by God, and walking in the light! All of this and for what reason? To proclaim His excellencies! A chosen race speaks to me of a nation and a people chosen by God as Israel was. They were to obey His laws and His voice, but instead they stubbornly followed their own hearts and chased after foreign gods. Certainly I have no statues of gods and don't go to the high places, but do I have anything that I value more than God? Am I quick to obey the word, or am I stubbornly persisting in behaviors that I justify or rationalize?

 

How would a priest be royal as opposed to non-royal? What does it mean? I know that as a believer I am being built up as a living stone into a temple for God so that I may be a holy priest. Perhaps royal means that as a child of God, I am a heir and joint heir with Christ. That means that I am in the royal family! As a royal child of God, I can be a royal priest. I can go to God confidently for confession and for His grace to help in time of need.

 

I am part of a holy nation, that is the body of Christ. All of us in this nation have been washed in the blood of Christ. We are forgiven, saved, justified, sanctified, and waiting expectantly for Christ's return. As a member of this nation, I am an ambassador for Christ and must share the message when God opens the door. I must guard myself so that I don't become spotted with the muck of this world but stay close to Jesus, the author and finisher of my faith.

 

Thankfully, God chose me to be His possession. I have switched allegiance from the domain of darkness into the kingdom of His marvelous light. In this eternal kingdom, the glorious splendor of the king reigns supreme. There is no fence riding, no idea that one foot can be in the world and one in the kingdom. It is all in or all out. And thankfully I am all in!

 

What is my life mission as a kingdom dweller? Living as a stranger and alien, I must proclaim His excellencies. I must shout out the message, the good news of salvation through Christ. He is the answer for what ails the soul, for the emptiness the world seeks to fill, and for the grief that shades all that the world does. With so much to live for and so much to share, why am I fearful? How strong is my flesh! How crippling!

 

Father,

I confess my fear and ask that you would be my strength, that your grace would be in all that I do. Teach me to live as this verse teaches. Make every part of it a reality in my life.

In His name,

Amen