December 5, 2016
Read verses: 1 Peter 2:9-10
9 “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy” (1 Peter 2:9-10).
Do you remember being in elementary school and choosing teams at recess to play kickball? I loved playing sports as a child, but I was never the strongest player on the team. Therefore, I was rarely chosen in the first or even second round of the playground draft. I was usually somewhere in the middle. Being chosen first was a privilege reserved for only the finest athletes. Being chosen was desired and sought after. We all wanted to feel needed and wanted.
As we ponder the birth of Christ again this year, our hearts are drawn to the people in the story we consider to be the main characters: Elizabeth, Zechariah, John, Mary, Joseph, shepherds, and, of course, the baby, Jesus. Each year as we read this story, these same characters are pointed out in sermons, devotionals, songs, and our own thoughts. We have imagined their thoughts and actions many times over the years. We see them being chosen over and over again to play important roles in this most important story of our faith.
How amazing it would have been to be chosen as the mother of John or Jesus! Or, imagine what an incredible experience it must have been to be a shepherd in the fields when the silence and darkness of night were shattered by the songs of angels!
Fully alive! The experiences of each of the characters in this narrative must have made them feel fully alive and in awe of the choices God had made.
Peter reminds us that we, too, are chosen. We are chosen to be more than a player on a kickball team. Because of the birth of this most amazing of babies, we are now a chosen people belonging to God! We are no longer unknown, we are now the people of God.
This advent season may you feel fully alive as you remember the birth of our Savior. His birth places you in an incredible family. You have been chosen.
Prayer:
Lord, as we ponder Jesus’ birth this year, may we remember the incredible joy we have in being your chosen people, just as Mary, Joseph, and the others were chosen. We are fully alive in you. Thank you, Amen.