I Am Called to Be Obedient
“… who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with His blood ...” 1 Peter 1:2
I don’t always like to be chosen. When it’s something fun, like receiving an invitation to a party or special event, I celebrate! I’m much less enthused when selected to clean up a mess or initiate a hard conversation. But even in the burdensome or outright painful assignments, I can find hope and the strength to endure by remembering who I belong to, the price Christ paid to claim my heart, and why I exist—to glorify Him.
God doesn’t call me to lead a thriving ministry, packed out Bible study, or excel in my career. He may indeed produce those outcomes, but that’s His role, not mine. Today’s verse reminds me, ultimately, I’m called to be obedient.
Many times obedience is hard. It means showing love when others respond with hate. It means reaching out when we fear rejection. It means giving while expecting nothing in return. In short, it means revealing Jesus in everything we do and say. This is God’s call for us today, and it was God’s call for the persecuted Christians who first read the letter today’s verse comes from.
To them, obedience meant surrendering everything, potentially their lives, to the One who had sprinkled them with His blood, set them apart, and made them clean. It’s as if, in the middle of their painful and frightening circumstances, Peter, the ancient church leader who wrote today’s verse, was reminding them of who they were and who they belonged to.
Their trials, as horrific as they were, didn’t mean they were abandoned or rejected. In fact, they were evidence of their chosen state. Jesus Christ, who had suffered and died on their behalf, had chosen each of them, according to God the Father’s foreknowledge, to spread His light and life in a dark and hurting world.
They were set apart for divine purposes, to be obedient to their victorious Savior. We are as well.
Jennifer Slattery is a writer, editor, speaker, and the founder of Wholly Loved Ministries. She writes for Crosswalk, is the author of eight contemporary novels, and helped write Wholly Loved’s Bible study based on the life of Sarai (Gen. 12-23) titled Becoming His Princess, releasing in the spring/summer of 2019. When not writing, reading, or editing, Jennifer loves going on mall outings with her adult daughter and coffee dates with her hilariously fun husband. Visit her online at jenniferslatterylivesoutloud.com.
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