Identity and Purpose

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Identity and Purpose

1 Peter 2:9-12

“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called out out of darkness into His marvelous light.”

                  It is easy to become distracted. The number one cause of car accidents is distracted driving.  It is estimated that distracted drivers cause 80% of car accidents.  According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, texting while driving is far more dangerous than drunk driving.  While many people would not consider driving after drinking, many text a message without a thought.

                  It is also easy to become distracted in our Christian lives. After 35 years of ministry, I can say, without a doubt, that the number one reason people stop attending Church is distractions. It is not that they get upset and leave the church or consciously decide to stop going. It is that life just becomes too busy for church. The demands upon our time soon become a spiritual distraction. Other things become a higher priority.  

                  In this passage, Peter wants to remind his readers that they are a royal priesthood and a people for God’s own possession.  We read these words and often fail to grasp the significance of them.  To be a priest meant that your highest priority and purpose in life was to serve God in the temple.  The priests in the Old Testament were not given an allotment of land.  Instead, God Himself was their allotment (Dt. 18:1-8).  Their priority was serving God, and their life was dedicated to God.  In the Old Testament, only the tribe of Levi was given this designation.  However, when we come to the New Testament, we discover that all Christians are called to be priests of God.  In other words, every Christian is to be set apart for the service of God. In the Old Testament, the priests were to reflect the glory of God to the nations so that the nations around Israel would recognize that there is no God but God.  When Peter reminds us that we are priests of God, he reminds us to reflect God to the world.  Our lives are to be wholly set apart for God’s use and to serve Him.  God is not just a part of our lives; He defines our lives and our purpose.  

                  As priests, we are to recognize that we now belong to God.  This means more than just He is our God.  It involves acknowledging that everything we have, who we are, what we do, and what we become should be brought under His ownership and sovereign rule.  One commentator describes the significance of these words in this way, “The words speak of the unique, private, personal ownership of the saints by God.  Each saint is God’s unique possession, just as if that saint were the only human being in existence.”  This means that God and our service to Him become the highest priority in our lives.  Everything else remains secondary to our service to God.  Just as the priest had only one purpose in life, which was to serve God, now we have only one purpose: to proclaim His excellencies to the rest of the world in which we live.  When confronted with choices, God must always be the focus.  We are to manifest God in all things so that when people observe our lives, they see God’s presence and glory in everything we do.  If someone were to observe how you live, what you say, where you go, and what you post on social media,  would they see God’s presence in your life or the absence of God in your life?  How visible is our faith? Or are we distracted by our faith so that we lose sight of God?

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