Do you ever see fresh insights in seemingly familiar surroundings?
One interesting aspect of the Bible is reading a familiar passage and discovering a fresh insight. Last time I talked about the story of Jesus walking on water.
This week our small group looked at this passage from verse 9 of 1 Peter 2.
… for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.
Holy. Holy means set apart, in this case for a special purpose.
Priests. Priests are mediators, in this case mediators with the special call to show others the goodness of God.
I can’t imagine how many times I’ve read or heard that passage, and I’ve always focused on the notion of being “set apart.” It’s not like I felt superior, but I definitely heard the idea that others ought to recognize something different about me because I follow Jesus.
So what about being a priest?
Who, me? I don’t think so—except there it is, right before the “holy” part—I’m apparently supposed to be a priest.
And there’s the lightning bolt, the flash of insight—you can’t show God’s goodness to others by staying away from them.
This call to be holy or set apart can’t mean separate. I’m supposed to be different than the world around me, but I cannot remove myself from it.
God tells me to let the light of His love shine through me (holy) and to engage with people who need to see that light (priest).
If you’re like me, I’ll bet you don’t tend to think of yourself as “holy.” I don’t imagine you’d include “priest” on your resume.
Maybe that’s part of what this journey is about. Maybe following Jesus means learning and accepting new roles.
Sort of like an ancient group of fishermen and tax collectors.
How does “being different than the world without withdrawing from it” play out in your life?
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