1 Peter 2:4-10 (NIV)
4 As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him— 5 you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual houseto be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 For in Scripture it says:
“See, I lay a stone in Zion,
a chosen and precious cornerstone,
and the one who trusts in him
will never be put to shame.”
7 Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe,
“The stone the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone,”
8 and,
“A stone that causes people to stumble
and a rock that makes them fall.”
They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for.
9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, 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.
Reflection:
For many of us, special care and thought was taken into the decision of our name; what we would be called. Some of our parents/caregivers picked those names because they may have liked the meaning, or it was a name that has been in the family, or a name they hoped we would live up to, etc. In this passage, God directly declares who we are called to be and in that name how we are to live. God declares over us that we are his chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, his special possession. This is what we have been called by the sovereign Lord over all the earth, therefore it’s a calling that comes with great assurance. We are to declare the praises of him who has shown us mercy. As we live our lives doing so and trusting him who has called us, his promise is that we will never be put to shame.
Response:
Let’s pray for our missional groups and campus fellowships that we would recognize again how precious we are in God’s eyes. Let’s pray that as we receive this assurance of his wonderful love over our lives that we would confidently overflow in declaring the praises of him who has called us out of darkness into his wonderful light.
