by John Piper
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; for you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. --1 Peter 2:9-10
One day last week I when I was praying, I found myself thanking God for the wonder of being a human. We have the astonishing capacity to see and hear and feel, and then to think about all this amazing reality, and then to form judgments about it all and know right and wrong and good and bad and beautiful and ugly, and then to feel profound emotions of love and hate and joy and discouragement and wonder and hope and gratitude, and then to reason and plan our lives in ways that accomplish things. And best of all is to find all these wonderful human capacities caught up in knowing and loving and serving the greatest Being in the universe -- our Maker and our Savior and our God. It was one of those rare moments -- like a brief brush with eternity.
One of the great benefits of having a dog is the increased awareness that I am not one. I look at my dog, Sable, and think for a moment that she is kind and forgiving and humble and patient and loving and warm and gentle and happy and peaceful. Then I realize she's a dog! She does not know or reason or feel or judge like I do. She does not prize anything because of its true worth -- its relation to God. She doesn't know where she came from. She doesn't reflect on her identity and wonder who she is or what it means ultimately in God's scheme of things to be a dog. She doesn't think about why she's here and doesn't know where she's going.
She is a wonder, and can call forth amazing affection. But she is not a human created in the image of God. And as I think about her I am amazed at my own humanity. And at the incredible wonders of the humans I live with. To be alive as a human being with indescribable mysteries at every turn, and to have in front of us an eternal destiny of spectacular glory or inexpressible horror is a weight that can either press you down with fear and trembling or bear you up with joy unspeakable and full of glory.
Whether it does the one or the other depends in large measure on whether you know the answer to the big basic human questions or not. Who are you? How did you get that identity? What are you here for? No dog or turtle or fish or squirrel or bird or dolphin or chimpanzee ever lost one night's sleep pondering those questions. Only humans ask these questions. Only humans kill themselves and kill others when they don't get true and satisfying answers to these questions.
Not often do we find such resoundingly clear answers to all three questions in such a small space as we do in this text of 1 Peter 2:9-10. Who am I? How did I get this identity? What's it for -- Why am I here?
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; for you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. --1 Peter 2:9-10
For a complete message on 1 Peter 2:9-10 go here.
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