1 Peter 2:9-12
9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies 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. 11 Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. 12 Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.
This world and its pleasures is not our real home. Our real home is in heaven, and remembering that can help us to keep the temptations of the world in perspective. As verse 11 says, "I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh". A sojourner or exile is someone who is just visiting, but who belongs to another place. Verse 9 tells us that we "are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession". This is a different citizenship, so we should not get too attached to the possessions and pleasures of this world.
Lord, thank you that I belong to You. I look forward to someday seeing You in my real home.
9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies 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. 11 Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. 12 Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.
This world and its pleasures is not our real home. Our real home is in heaven, and remembering that can help us to keep the temptations of the world in perspective. As verse 11 says, "I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh". A sojourner or exile is someone who is just visiting, but who belongs to another place. Verse 9 tells us that we "are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession". This is a different citizenship, so we should not get too attached to the possessions and pleasures of this world.
Lord, thank you that I belong to You. I look forward to someday seeing You in my real home.