“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 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
Can you imagine not knowing where you came from, who you are and where you’re going? One thread in the fabric of humanity stitched a pattern through time to ensure your destiny. And yet, at the start of that glorious design, a snag unraveled and snarled God’s plans through the choice of sin. Generation after generation searched for connection. Humanity since the fall in the Garden of Eden have searched for the deeper meaning to life only to find elusive threads.
It has never been the Lord’s intent to leave a masterpiece undone, to leave a work of His great design unfinished, unsigned or without purpose. We wander in a world tattered and torn, but in Christ, we are given a lineage, a purpose and a special place in His family. You and I who have lived in the dark despair of sin, now live as God’s wonderful light. It might sound like some fantastical story you’d share with a child at bedtime or to give a downcast soul hope, but God offers no fantasies, only a future for those who want to dig deeper.
Why would God choose us? The people who left that Garden of perfection chose to walk in their own wisdom. They chose to believe in the lies of a conspirator who built up false claims with four doubt-filled, yet deadly words: “Did God really say?” (Genesis 3:1) Satisfied with communion and connection, the Garden provided an ideal symbiotic union between Deity and humanity. In a sense, Adam and Eve before sin were sewn to God in love; after the Fall, they covered their sins in sewn fabrics of separation, darkness and unrepentance.
As we dig deeper for connection, meaning and purpose, God through the ages provides us with the only cord to bind us together to Him. His pure and perfect Son. Christ’s ultimate sacrifice provided the only way, the only truth and the only light. No one past or present deemed worthy. And no one past, present or even future deserves such adoration. When I look at my world and my influence on it, I might justify my small role in the grand design, but when I dig deeper and broaden my scope to the sins Christ bore for my family and those who’ve gone before, generations back to Adam and Eve, praises aren’t enough, are they?
Digging deeper is more that finding myself, my roots and my heritage. When I search for who I am in Christ, I am unearthing who God has called us to become – chosen, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, called out of darkness and brought into the brilliance of a King who now calls us His children and special possessions. Therefore, if you haven’t done so, don’t be afraid to dig deeper.
