Saturday, February 04, 2012

CHOSEN FOR A REASON

"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."
1 Peter 2:9
This is a remarkably encouraging passage of Scripture. It tells us of our chosen position, our royal role in this world, and our inheritance as children of the most high God. We read verses like this and are amazed at the high and holy nature of our calling. We realize that mercy has been lavished upon us and we're in a privileged place. We are the ulitamte rags-to riches story.
But the amazing story doesn't end there. God hasn't just saved us and then written "the end." There's more to the plot than that. We are chosen so that we might declare His PRAISES. As 1 Peter 2:9 continues, we have been transferred from a kingdom of darkness to a KINGDOM OF LIGHT. We were blind, but now we see. We were hidden and then revealed.  We were lost in a dark, musky wilderness, then plucked out of it and placed on streets of gold glimmering under the perpetual radiance of the Son. And according to this verse, there's a more ultimate purpose to our salvation than ourselves. We are bestowed with the honour of being chosen with the specific purpose of declaring His PRAISES.
If we've never seen our WORSHIP as the ultimate purpose of our salvation, we're missing the best part of salvation. The place of lavishing WORSHIP is the place of blessing, of richest fellowship, and of true fulfillment. Salvation isn't complete until we PRAISE Him for His mercy - daily, passionately, honestly. We were bought with a price for a reason.
Many believers get caught up in getting the most out of their salvation. Few move on to giving the most out of their salvation. But those who do will realize one of the many paradoxes ofthe kingdom: Giving it all results in getting it all. A HEART poured out in PRAISE results in a HEART filled with PURPOSE. The way of sacrifice leads to great gain. Losing our lives in WORSHIP ends with fulfilling our life in God. And that's exactly the reason for which we were redeemed!

WE ARE SAVED TO WORSHIP GOD.
ALL THAT CHRIST HAS DONE FOR US IN THE PAST
AND ALL THAT HE IS DOING NOW LEADS TO THIS ONE END
A.W.TOZER

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