From Darkness to Light

“But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;”  I Peter 2:9

In this passage the Apostle Peter is writing to Gentile believers who have been chosen by God to represent Him just as He chose Israel to be a witness to the world of His magnificence, grace, and mercy.  Because Israel failed to represent Him as He intended and instead became disobedient idolaters, He extended His grace and mercy to the Gentiles, not as a replacement for Israel, but to provoke Israel to return to Him (Romans 11:11).  It was always God’s plan to include Gentiles in His plan of salvation, but it was His prerogative to choose Israel first.  Abraham was the chosen patriarch of God’s people, and he was a Gentile since Israel was non-existent at the time that Abraham and his family left their homeland when God called them to a land in which Abraham’s descendants would settle (Genesis 12:1-9).

Peter also calls Gentile believers a royal priesthood, a holy nation, and a peculiar people.  Today the term “peculiar” has a not-so-flattering connotation.  Most people think peculiar means strange or odd.  (Of course, that’s what some folks think Christians are-strange or odd or worse.)  However, the more preferred definition of “peculiar” according to Webster’s Dictionary is “unique, special, or privileged”.  (I think I like this definition better).  One who has surrendered his or her life to Christ is indeed a part of a group of people that is unique, special, and particularly privileged.  I feel privileged that God reached down and touched my heart, convicted me of my sin, and welcomed me into His family.  Now the world sees committed Christians as fanatics, holier-than-thou types, narrow-minded, or “it’s my way or the highway” kind of folks, and unfortunately, some Christians own those titles.  Actually a Christian should be narrow-minded when it comes spiritual discernment.  As they say, if you don’t stand for something, you will fall for anything.

There are those unbelievers who consider Christians to be backward and unsophisticated along with the above-listed descriptions, but they cannot understand what makes a born again man or woman tick because the unbelievers lack spiritual discernment.  They can’t fathom the freedom and joy that comes from serving the Lord.  They don’t know what it means to be called out of darkness into the marvelous light of Christ.  The are like the folks which Jesus referred to as “the blind leading the blind”, people who think they have it all together and get others to follow, but in the end, because they are walking in the dark, they both fall into the ditch (Matthew 15:14).

Light always overcomes darkness.  Those of us who have come into the Light should continually praise the Lord because we no longer live in darkness.  Thank God for the Light of Christ.