SERIES
Sojourn: Toward an Enduring City
2016-11-06T11:00:00-06:00
5:1 Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him.
2 And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
5 “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version copyright (c)2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. http://www.esv.org
On Sunday Mark Davis encouraged us to “soak” in Peter’s powerful description of our permanent identity. This exhortation would fit on any day of our lives, but the reminder seems particularly timely during an election season. When the world appears to be spinning out of control, are we learning to remember who the Lord is and who we are in Him? Does the Lord’s amazing mercy toward us impact us more than the world’s great darkness around us? Let’s reflect again on how Peter describes our permanent identity in Christ.
We are a chosen race. The sovereign God has set His love upon us. “He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us for adoption” (Ephesians 1:4-5).
We are a royal priesthood. Jesus Christ is the great High Priest who has sacrificed Himself to bring us to God. And now He has made us a kingdom of priests to represent Him to the world.
We are a holy nation. Jesus is the Holy One, and through His life, death, and resurrection, He has made us holy. God “made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21).
We are a people for His own possession. The Lord has set His affection on us, and He has done everything necessary to make us His treasured possession forever.
In the coming hours and days, we will learn a lot about the future of our country. As we wait, will we remember that the Lord already has perfect knowledge of what will happen? There is nothing that He can learn! The sovereign Lord is on His throne, and He is working out His purposes, even if we struggle to see it. This election cycle gives us a moment to remind ourselves of our ultimate hope in Christ, to remember that we are called to be people full of faith, not fear. By God’s amazing mercy, we have an identity that is secure no matter what happens. And as God’s people, our response to this moment should proclaim the excellencies of Him who called us out of darkness into His marvelous light. The future of our nation is clouded with uncertainty, but can we rejoice that our identity in Christ is not?