Who We Are

1 Peter 2.1-10

¹ Rid yourselves, therefore, of all malice and all guile, insincerity, envy, and all slander. ² Like newborn infants, long for the pure, spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow into salvation— ³ if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.

⁴ Come to him, a living stone, though rejected by mortals yet chosen and precious in God’s sight, and ⁵ like living stones let yourselves be built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. ⁶ For it stands in scripture:

“See, I am laying in Zion a stone,
    a cornerstone chosen and precious,
and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”

⁷ This honor, then, is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe,

“The stone that the builders rejected
    has become the very head of the corner,”

⁸ and

“A stone that makes them stumble
    and a rock that makes them fall.”

They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.

⁹ But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, in order that you may proclaim the excellence of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

¹⁰ Once you were not a people,
    but now you are God’s people;
once you had not received mercy,
    but now you have received mercy.

Peter just took us across several parts of the Old Testament.  Isaiah 28, to Psalm 118 to Isaiah 8 and then to the book of Hosea.  Peter connects us to the stories of God’s people as they were first called to be a nation long ago and shows us that we belong to God’s people now as we are called out to follow him.

This text takes me back to a discussion I had with an elder in our previous congregation.  We were talking about which song from Queen was most about Freddie Mercury.  He wanted to make it Fat Bottom Girls, but we actually agreed on the song, Someone to Love.  Freddie’s desire, the desire of most people, is that place of belonging with another person in relationship.

The Hosea story shows us the reversal of people being named You are not Loved (Lo-Ruhammah) and You are not my People (Lo-Ammi).  Their names being changed to You are Loved and You are My People.  Peter picks that up and shows how it is the image of what God does for us.  He calls us his people.  He tells us we are loved.

This is a portion of the basis for one of the reminders on my board in my office.  My identity: I belong to God in his grace through Jesus Christ.  I am Forgiven; I am Loved; I belong.  This is who we are.  It is why we live as part of Christ’s church today.  It is the basis for our identity and our life.  Know who we are.