40 Days of Praise - Day 36
Day 36
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
1 Peter 2:9
We are all familiar with various uses of the term darkness. It can refer to the absence of physical light. It can refer to ignorance, the absence of knowledge. It can also refer to a deficiency in moral or spiritual sensitivity.
Jesus called us out of darkness into his marvelous light. He obviously was not referring to physical darkness. There is a certain sense in which He was referring to the absence of knowledge, because many of us were unaware that we were dead in trespasses and sins until the light of the gospel came. And when we think in terms of salvation, it can seem as though moral darkness and spiritual darkness are one and the same. They are not.
There are some secular people and people of other religions who have a solid moral foundation. They have a well developed sense of right and wrong that provides the bedrock of personal life, family life, and community life. But spiritually, they are unaware of the holiness, the justice, and the wrath of God. Consequently, neither are they aware of his grace.
Today’s verse begins with a description of the marvelous light into which Jesus has called us: we are “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession.” Those are not categories that we found of our own initiative. Jesus called us out of the darkness into his marvelous light. We thought we were OK. We believed we had a sufficient moral code that worked for us. We were not particularly interested in the boundaries that some invisible divine being had established. We either didn’t believe such a being existed, we were unsure about their existence, or we believed we had those bases covered by our practice of religion or spirituality. That is, until Jesus called.
It’s a strange sensation when you are in spiritual darkness with a large group of people and you get called out of that darkness. It’s strange because you didn’t think you were in darkness, and all the people that you move away from are confused or offended by the fact that you’re leaving. They are still unaware of the darkness. Why some hear the call of Jesus and others do not is beyond our sorting out. Some would say He calls this one and not that one. Others would say that some make a choice not to respond or to respond partially. The parable Jesus tells of the four soils implies some interaction between the soil and the seed. Today's verse says Jesus called us.
Whatever the answer to that question, I still find myself immensely grateful that He called me out of darkness into His marvelous light, into His royal priesthood, His holy nation, the people for His own possession. I am glad that I am His.
Aren’t you?
Charles M. Butler
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
1 Peter 2:9
We are all familiar with various uses of the term darkness. It can refer to the absence of physical light. It can refer to ignorance, the absence of knowledge. It can also refer to a deficiency in moral or spiritual sensitivity.
Jesus called us out of darkness into his marvelous light. He obviously was not referring to physical darkness. There is a certain sense in which He was referring to the absence of knowledge, because many of us were unaware that we were dead in trespasses and sins until the light of the gospel came. And when we think in terms of salvation, it can seem as though moral darkness and spiritual darkness are one and the same. They are not.
There are some secular people and people of other religions who have a solid moral foundation. They have a well developed sense of right and wrong that provides the bedrock of personal life, family life, and community life. But spiritually, they are unaware of the holiness, the justice, and the wrath of God. Consequently, neither are they aware of his grace.
Today’s verse begins with a description of the marvelous light into which Jesus has called us: we are “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession.” Those are not categories that we found of our own initiative. Jesus called us out of the darkness into his marvelous light. We thought we were OK. We believed we had a sufficient moral code that worked for us. We were not particularly interested in the boundaries that some invisible divine being had established. We either didn’t believe such a being existed, we were unsure about their existence, or we believed we had those bases covered by our practice of religion or spirituality. That is, until Jesus called.
It’s a strange sensation when you are in spiritual darkness with a large group of people and you get called out of that darkness. It’s strange because you didn’t think you were in darkness, and all the people that you move away from are confused or offended by the fact that you’re leaving. They are still unaware of the darkness. Why some hear the call of Jesus and others do not is beyond our sorting out. Some would say He calls this one and not that one. Others would say that some make a choice not to respond or to respond partially. The parable Jesus tells of the four soils implies some interaction between the soil and the seed. Today's verse says Jesus called us.
Whatever the answer to that question, I still find myself immensely grateful that He called me out of darkness into His marvelous light, into His royal priesthood, His holy nation, the people for His own possession. I am glad that I am His.
Aren’t you?
Charles M. Butler
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