Set Apart

We are a people set apart. What does that mean? According to google it means to separate something and keep it for a special purpose. 

1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

So who are you, you ask? A chosen race, a holy nation. Why are you here? What is our purpose? To proclaim God’s goodness and God’s glory. No matter who you are, you were created for God’s possession, to bring him glory. A lot of times we go searching, reading books, attending seminars, and taking identity tests to try and figure out why we are here on earth. There is nothing wrong with these things, but you must start with the foundation, that we are called out of the darkness to bring the light into the world. No matter what field you work in, you should be bringing light.

God makes no mistakes and is very intentional.  

Jeremiah 1:5 says Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, before you were born I set you apart.” 

Earth is not our home, we are simply passing through. While we are here, we are to be sharing the goodness of God, the Gospel of Jesus The Christ,  making heaven crowded.

As God’s chosen people, we are not supposed to look like the world. The world is unfaithful, selfish, hopeless, materialistic, lustful, and prideful.

1 John 2:15-17 Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world,  love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever. 

If as God’s chosen people, we look like the world, what hope does that share? Each one of us has different personalities, different gifts, and different callings, but we have the same purpose. Our response to crisis, the world’s problems, and to people should not be the same as everyone else’s. Everything we do should be matched up and aligned with the word of God. We respond in prayer with faith and hope that God is in control and is always working to bring things together for our good. (Romans 8:28)

We can’t just go around saying whatever we think, acting out of emotion, and responding in fear. We must look to the example that Jesus showed us to be set apart from the crowd. As Jesus walked on the earth, he did things that the locals did not understand and agree with. They questioned him and was offended by his authority to perform miracles and teach of what would come with the resurrection. Although this came with suffering, Jesus persisted because he was committed to the will of God. His faith was in God and not the world.

It is easy for us to conform to the ways of this world which is why we need the grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit. Like they say, “In a field of roses, be a sunflower”, we must also strive to look more and more like Jesus in a world of chaos! We must be transformed by the renewing of our minds! 

What steps can you take to show that you are committed to the will of God and not the nature of the world?

❤️