As we continue our expository studies of 1 Peter, we recall from our previous exposition (1 Peter 2:9) that Peter writes of the Christian’s glorious position:
But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people…
So we talked about our rejoicing in the Christian’s position. Turning now to the latter part of verse 9, we read Peter’s stress upon the Christian’s purpose:
Realize Your Purpose
…that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light
If you’re a Christian, your purpose in life is to “proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” If He is the one who treasures us as His special people, then we owe our lives to Him. We live for Him.
Our ultimate purpose in life is not to be successful, not to make a lot of money, nor even to retire on the beach and spend our days in lazy reflection and isolation.
We have been created for the purpose of “proclaiming the praises of Him who called us out of darkness into His marvelous light.”
As the Apostle Paul writes elsewhere, “For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 4:6).”
We exist for the purpose of reflecting the light we have received. We received the light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and we now live as “light reflectors.”
What does that look like practically speaking? How exactly do we “proclaim the praises of Him?” How do we declare to others the excellencies of God and His Son, Jesus Christ?
We proclaim the praises of Him through both our worship and our words.
We gather Sundays and worship publicly among a congregation of brothers and sisters, “proclaiming the praises of Him” as we sing hymns, participate in the ordinances, and hear the preached Word of God. Worship.
And we also proclaim the praises of Him through our words; our witness. We will share our faith at work, at school, and in our neighborhoods. We will write, speak, encourage, warn, and pray all in the name of Jesus Christ for God’s glory.
This is our ultimate purpose in life.
Rejoice in Your Position, Realize Your Purpose and thirdly:
Remember Your Past (10)
who once were not a people but are now the people of God,
who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy. (1 Peter 2:10)
Remember your past. You once were “not a people.” You once were, as Paul writes in Ephesians 2:1, “dead in trespasses and sins.”
You once were dead. You once were blind. You once were lost–but now you are alive! But now you see! But now you are found!
You once were “not a people,” but now you are “the people of God.” You once had not obtained mercy, “but now have obtained mercy.”
Never forget where you were before God took hold of your heart and drew you to His side! Remembering your past will keep you humble. You didn’t deserve salvation anymore than anyone else. God gets all the glory for what He has done in your life.
God has taken broken people and put them together in this unique organization called the church. The blessing of belonging! And while we are redeemed from our past, we are still an imperfect people, often bumbling along as we slowly become more like Christ.
NPR former commentator Heather King is a recovering alcoholic. She became a Christian and published a book a number of years ago that contains a memorable description of the church. Reflecting back on her initial experiences with the church, she writes:
My first impulse was to think, “My God, I don’t want to get sober…with THESE nutcases!”
Nothing shatters our egos like worshipping with people we did not hand-pick …. The humiliation of discovering that we are thrown in with extremely unpromising people!—people who are broken, misguided, wishy-washy, out for themselves. People who are … us.
Adapted from Heather King, “The Better Church,” Shirt of Flame blog (10-23-11)
What a joy to belong to a people as goofy and mixed-up as we ourselves–a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people.
What About You?
- How do your current goals fulfill your greater purpose in life of glorifying God? Does something need to change?
- Do you gather weekly with Christians so that you may “proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light?”
- How often do your words point people to Jesus?
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