|
|
|
|
January 2006
Precious to God In the second chapter of 1 Peter, we learn the answers to questions that we may spend a lifetime looking for; and if we do not look in the Word, we would not find those answers. Why am I here? What am I doing to with my life? What is the meaning of my life? What is my purpose? Who am I? These are essentially the same question in different forms, but the answer is vitally relevant to our relationship with the One who created us and loves us. In 1 Peter 2:1-8, we learn what to get rid of malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, slander. Why? So we can grow up in our salvation because we have “tasted that the Lord is good”. Maybe you haven't experienced or “tasted” that the Lord is good. Perhaps you are hurting, broken, filled with shame, abandoned, unloved, or even unwanted. In verse 4 you may see how good God is even when all else is not when it says, “As you come to Him, the Living Stone—rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to Him.” The word “but” shows the contrast that men may reject, but God does not. He chose you. You are precious to Him. When looking at life, do not evaluate based on your horizontal viewpoint. Look up and see that you are precious to the Lord. His love for you never stops. What makes this truth a reality is spending time with the One who loves and desires you more than anyone ever can. He is not on the horizontal plane with men. He is God, above all other standards. Instead of looking out for meaning and acceptance among your peers, look up. Jesus gave His life for you so you can know the One who loves you unconditionally and considers you very precious. 1 Peter 2:9-10 helps us answer the many questions that our heart and soul search for and long to have answered. “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, and a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praise of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light. 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.” Think on a few things this verse says. First, you and I are His chosen people. If you or I were the only one on the earth, God would still choose us. His love is not contingent on what man's love is, for He is nothing like man. He alone is God. Second, notice to whom you and I belong. We belong to God. We no longer have to find a place to belong, a club to join, or some social status to give us meaning. God alone gives us all that, yet in His mercy we have earthly vessels through which He touches us. Although He chooses to use earthly vessels—our brothers and sisters in Christ—He is the source of all; He is the beginning and the end of all things. Third, notice why we were made. To declare the praise of God. Perhaps we do not find meaning in our lives because our focus is about exalting us, and in the process, we run into nothing that fills us. Why? Because we are not our own; we belong to God. Just as children look to their parents, acknowledging to whom they belong, so it is for the Christian who looks to God. That is where our fulfillment lies as well. We switch from the horizontal view to the vertical view, no longer pointing at others or ourselves as the point of our origin. He alone is our source. He alone gives us what no other can give—our true Home. Finally, when others (horizontally) do not give us what we look for or what we feel we need, look up (vertically) and see that the Lord is good. If you look for significance and love horizontally, the best you can eat is dirt. The mercy God gives comes from above. Receive it.
|
|
|
