You Belong to God

1 Peter 2:9-10 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. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.    
 
FROM Genesis 4 when God chose Abel’s sacrifice over Cain’s, our LORD God has decided who will be his people. Unfortunately, too many of God’s chosen people have minimized God’s great gift to draw them into a holy, joyful and loving relationship with him. Peter preaches to the church that we must understand the singular wonder that we are the object of God’s eternal gift. Our hearts must receive God’s choosing with enormous gratitude, faith and obedience.
   Understanding this we are to declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Note this is a forceful action, not a whisper or even quiet statement. But we must declare – pronounce, affirm, announce publicly – what God has done. Before we became Jesus’ church, we were singular strangers in a world that wants to destroy us. But now in Jesus we are the people of God! The mercy of God’s salvation has poured over us. We are healed from sin’s darkness into God’s light, so we will know God.
   Peter than teaches us how we must respond: 1 Peter 2:11 Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. 12 Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us. 13 Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, 14 or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. 15 For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men. 16 Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God. 17 Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king.
   This is the life God has chosen to give to you. He has sacrificially proven his love for you. Are you accepting, proclaiming and living  his gift?