Peculiar Lights

"And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness." (Gen 1:4 ESV)  

"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."

(1 Peter 2:9 ESV)

The world is all about being different and setting yourself apart from other people in as many ways as you can: getting a tattoo, wearing a certain style of clothing, having a rare(r) brand of car, knowing certain facts, having a certain kind of degree. It is all about having something or being in some way "unique". The problem is that outer trappings will never truly set you apart from the crowd. 

As Christians we are anointed by God to be His peculiar people. The ESV translates this phrase in other places as His "treasured possession"; however, ever since I first heard this phrase when I was a little girl, it stuck with me as an appropriate way to talk about God's way of setting us apart for Himself. The LORD has chosen us for Himself.  The phrase "peculiar people" has  (at least to me) a deeper/wider meaning than "just" being treasured. To me it implies not only being chosen, but also set apart as radically different.

It is difficult to see ourselves as those around us in the world do. According to the common stereotypes, people tend to think of Christians as "those weirdos", as people who live their lives in a strange way, according to strange principles. We know that we are regular people who follow the example that Christ, the incarnate Son of God, has set for us.

We don't realize how different we are until we really and truly encounter the ugliness that is sin in the world. As Christians we often tend to live in our Christian "bubbles", associating with our Christian friends and not always having a real "clue" as to the depth of the bleak depravity so many people live in.

When we do encounter the world, we can be tempted to hide what we are. It makes us feel vulnerable to confess to others that we are peculiar. (And no, I don't mean quirky. :) )  We would rather pretend that we are just another person like them, trying to get along.

"It takes courage to switch on the light of the Holy Spirit and the gospel in our lives because it means revealing ourselves [to the world]. . . . Our light exposes the darkness around us." (Rev. Henry vanEssen, from sermon notes on Ps 23:5b, taken March 17, 2013)

If you have ever turned on a light in the pitch dark, felt the pupils of your eyes contracting in an almost painful way, and rushed to hide from the light under the blankets, you have experienced the way every sinner feels when their sin (our sin!) is exposed to the light of the true gospel of Christ. Our natural impulse is to hide from this light which exposes our sin. Just think of Adam and Eve in the garden after the Fall.

As Christians we are called to be lights in the world. We are called to expose sin in the way we live our lives. It is when we do not conform to the world around us, when we do not do what the world does, that we show what is hiding in the darkness.

What is shocking though is how we can pretend that we are not lights. When we don't show ourselves as Christians, we hide the hope of the gospel. Being in the light as Christians is not just about exposing the sin in the lives of the unsaved around us, but also about showing "the hope that is in us" (1 Pet 3:15).

We should remember that we were once like these. Even if we have been born and raised in Christian homes, in faithful families, we too were once separated by sin from God. Only the hope that is found in Jesus sets us apart from the rest of the world:  He chose us to be His peculiar people and washed us in His blood so that we do not need to hide from the light any longer. We can stand in the light in the confidence of His payment for our sin.

"[R]emember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. [13] But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. [14] For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility."

(Ephesians 2:12-14 ESV)

Don't let your fear of being thought peculiar stop you from switching on your light! Take pride in it--God chose you to be different!

“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. [15] Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. [16] In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

(Matthew 5:14-16 ESV) 

Workmanship

"For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."

(Ephesians 2:10 ESV)

We are His workmanship. This makes it clear that we cannot do anything to save ourselves. Christ is the one who does the work to save us for Himself: He made us and we are His. We are His creatures, His creations. We were made, and, through His blood, we are remade for a purpose: "for good works." 

We are "worked" by Christ. An image comes to my mind of a farmer working the land: he plows it, breaking up the hardened soil, plowing under the weeds and revealing the fresh dirt, ready for planting. He tests the soil for its nutrient profile, then fertilizes it for the crop He wants it to grow. This field gets a bit extra of that nutrient, that patch gets more of this one, depending on the seed to be planted there. He irrigates this section, but leaves another section dry (the crop growing here does best with "dry feet"). He directs the rain to fall here (for He is God and, unlike human farmers, can command rain and wind and sunshine as He likes) and withholds it there. He watches over His crop, and when the time is right and the crop is fully mature, He gathers it in.

The field cannot do any of this for itself. It cannot plow, plant, rain, or harvest, but is subject to the farmer's will.

Of course, the metaphor breaks down at a certain point. The field in my picture is truly passive. You cannot accuse it of intentionally harbouring weeds. However, our old nature can harbour weeds and can even cultivate them, if we are not careful to root them out at every opportunity. We are undergardeners in the garden that is us. We are called to tend what God has given us, bearing good fruit, not thorns and thistles. We are not just to bear showy leaves like the fig tree in Matthew 21, but good fruit as well.

This is why Paul says that we have been "created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them" (Eph 2:10). 

Walking implies action--we do not just sit back and watch our gardens grow weeds and briers, but rather we actively walk in the way that God has commanded, pulling the weeds and burning the briers, coming back again and again to hoe around the good plants, giving them room to flourish and allowing the access the the good nutrients that God has provided for them.

We have before us the grim warning of Isaiah 5: If the vineyard does not yield good fruit, it will be laid waste.  If God does not spare His covenant people of Israel, He will not spare us either. As Paul says,

"Then you will say, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” 20 That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast through faith. So do not become proud, but fear. 21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you. 22 Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God's kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off." 

Romans 11:19-22

Thanks be to Christ who is the True Vine and who sustains us when we cannot sustain ourselves! 

"If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. 9 As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. 10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. 11 These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full."

John 15: 7-11