A chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people…

As a chosen generation, we are a group of people chosen for the Kingdom – not because we were selected to be part of an elite group, but because He is gracious and, in humility, we accepted the invitation. It is nothing of our doing that we are saved. The only thing we did was accept the gift instead of rejecting His loving care or His compassionate gaze.

As a royal priesthood, He advocates for us as our High Priest who gave the ultimate sacrifice, paid and needed only once and for all, while we advocate for each other and the lost world. We are not called to convert, for we do nothing – it is the work of the Holy Spirit only. We merely can show Jesus by our love for one another (John 13:35). Our greatest weapon is praise and prayer, taking our breath and using it for the glory of God.

As a holy nation, we are set apart. We are a heavenly kingdom with a glorious King. We are not holy because of ourselves but because of our Righteous King who has graciously given us the opportunity for adoption (Ephesians 1). We have a government and governing rules, one King, and one law. We are children of our Father, but He is also our Lord, our Master, our Creator, and our God. We follow Him as grateful servants following a master who has freed them from an abusive and controlling situation. Just as the girl with Paul and Silas who was demon possessed (Acts 16:16-18) we have/had a master who profited off our captivity, but when Christ rescued us and freed us from those shackles, we are set free and now can choose Him as our Lord and serve the One we could never repay. 

As a peculiar people, we are meant to not fit in. We are to be transformed by the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:1-2). We are to lay our lives on the line for our Father with a willing heart. If He died for us, how can we repay Him but to sacrifice our every breath to try to give Him glory, to crucify the flesh, and lay down our life for His will just as Isaac obediently laid down his life for Abraham? We are meant to draw people through our different lives – the joy which comes from knowing Him. Jesus didn’t come to set up a new faith. He came to restore our relationship with our Father and our God. He came to bring inner peace to our relationship with our Creator, which in turn brings a sword to the world because it is held captive by the devil – the prince of the power of the air (Ephesians 6).

Altogether our identity is a chosen people, set apart for His Kingdom for which we serve here by chasing Him and inviting others to the Source of Life. We are intercessors for this world to preserve the goodness and not let the world collapse from decay. We are a people who are not supposed to proselytize, but to love one another and show Jesus Christ as a knit community of believers – the body of Christ unified in one mind and one heart, to serve Him. We are called to live out our faith before we are to talk about it. If our faith is without action, it’s dead and we cannot show it. That was what James meant: we cannot be Christ’s followers in word only but also in action and truth. It’s not something you can pretend in front of God – only others. So I ask you, are you living up to what Christ has made and called us? Or are you still numb from the grave He pulled you out of?

Step into life and do something. Stop standing in the doorway of your tomb and come out so people can see the grave clothes come off. Live in the new man who the Lord made you – a new creature. Put off the old garments of deceit and filthy complaining and put on garments of praise. He is worthy. After all, 1 Peter 2:9 and Matthew 5:16 state that we should work toward showing His praises. It’s the message in the epistle of 1 John – love separates us from the darkness. True love is gentle in sharing truth. It doesn’t want you to burn from the fire. You may think it’s harming you, but true love sees what danger you are heading toward. It is the same with the way of Christ. He sees your brokenness and your hopelessness. He knows how often you wish to give up. The question is, will you walk beside Him and let Him hold your hand or will you struggle and fight with it for your whole life? He says, “come to Me” (Matthew 11:28).

Will you continue the fight on your own? It won’t work, I can promise you because I’ve been there. A house divided cannot stand just as Satan cannot cast out demons himself or a dark room can become light without a light fixture and an on switch. Don’t fight the death spreading inside you because apart from yourself, there is no Light. That’s why Jesus is necessary. He alone has power over all that darkness and turmoil inside us. 

If you walk with Him and allow Him to pull you up… if you choose to let it go and surrender to Him… if you choose to stop fighting and rely on Him, then and only then can you have true liberty and be unshackled from the prison you have built around yourself.