Luke 5:8 NLT
When Simon Peter realised what had happened, he fell to his knees before Jesus and said, “Oh, Lord, please leave me — I’m such a sinful man.”
1 Peter 2:9 NLT
But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God's very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for He called you out of the darkness into His wonderful light.
Peter started out his relationship with Jesus being totally convinced of his own sinfulness as we see in Luke above.
We know that he was a rough, unschooled fisherman. Probably his language was littered with swearing and he'd had many failings in his life.
From the gospel accounts we can read he was inclined to overestimate himself and tended to blurt out things without stopping to think things through.
Yet, with all these issues against him, Peter was chosen by Jesus to be the leader of the apostles.
Because he'd messed up so many times and yet been forgiven and restored by Jesus, he was able to share that believers and followers of our Lord are a holy people, a chosen priesthood!
He knew the resurrection power of the Holy Spirit in his own life and reasoned that "if God can do it for me, He can do it for anyone!"
Looking at my own life, I see the same failures, sins and mistakes that scarred Peter's life - it's not very pretty to say the least, but "holy"? - no, never!
Thankfully, God has a different valuation system - He sees what we can be, as if we were there already!
Look at the early stages of a butterfly - the chrysalis looks nothing like the beautiful creature that emerges in the end.
1 John 3:2 NLT
Dear friends, we are already God's children, but He has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like Him, for we will see Him as He really is.
Through the perfect work of the Cross we too are being transformed, constantly cleansed and made right in His sight.
Unworthy - yes, of course!
Chosen to be "royal priests", to bring others to know Jesus - yes, absolutely!
Am I part of His "holy nation"? ... through Jesus' Precious Blood, you bet I am - and so are you too, fellow, flawed believer!
It's a bit too wonderful to take in, isn't it?
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