“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light” (1 Peter 2:9).

My wife and I sometimes find ourselves using a convenient trick when one of our children gets in trouble or does something they weren’t supposed to do.  It typically goes something like this: “Do you know what YOUR child did today??!!”  Wait a minute…isn’t it “our” child?  🙂

When a child does something wrong or embarrassing it can be easy to disassociate ourselves with the child.  Why?  Because I don’t want to admit that MY child could possibly do whatever it is he or she did!

If that’s how parents act with their children, what about how God deals with us?  God is perfect, holy, just, and righteous.  We are full of shameful thoughts, words, and actions.  Shouldn’t God rightly tell each of us, “I don’t know you”?

Certainly.  But that’s not what God does.  Rather, God chose to take the shame of your sins and mine and place them on His own Son who became shame and sin for us.  God chose to wash you clean from your sins in His own blood!

Why?  So that you might be His chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people that belongs to Him and He is glad to possess!

That’s a God we WANT to serve and obey!  That’s a God we WANT to declare praises about with our lives!

Glad to be God’s possession, just like you,

pastor