We Belong to Him
Good morning Immanuel family! Monday is a great time to reflect on God's love for us.
“You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9).
Have you ever felt deeply valued by someone? Maybe it was a teacher, coach, parent, or friend. They singled you out, spoke to you in a way that built you up, pulled out your value, met you in a time of need, and gave you a sense of purpose. Do you remember what it was like to feel the wind put in your sail by their encouragement?
In 1 Peter 2:9, God puts the wind of encouragement in our sail with a reminder that we belong to Him. Notice how Peter says that you and I are “God’s own.” These two words should echo through the halls of our hearts. We are “God’s own.” These words together are shorthand for God’s own zeal to love us; words that put a claim on our lives unlike any other claim imaginable. God has taken us out of the darkness of our sin and into his marvelous light, making us His own.
In this great transfer of status, we go from lost, impoverished, and accursed by sin and death; to chosen, royal, and holy. This is amazing! This change of status is all of grace, a result of God’s own doing, to the praise of His glorious grace. We are God’s own because it was God in Christ who entered the darkness of this world and bore the weight of our sin in His own body. We are God’s own because the darkness could not overcome Him—He swallowed up death in the marvelous light of His resurrection!
God’s deepest desire for you is to have you as His own. Let that sink into our hearts this morning, then let’s proclaim His mighty acts on our behalf!