Pray for the Precious
How precious are you?
Come to him, a living stone, though rejected by mortals yet chosen and precious in God's sight, and like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. - 1 Peter 2:4-5
In today's epistle, Peter shows us that what others reject, God may deem precious.
Knowing that Jesus was rejected should give us the feeling that even if others reject us as they did him, God may have a different opinion.
But one of the problems we run into as Christians is we don't want to compare ourselves to Jesus, even though we all may want to be like him.
So when someone rejects us, we don't think they are wrong about us. Instead, we may find our self-confidence beginning to crack and our self-image start to crumble.
I think that is wrong. I believe God chose to become one of us to show us we could be precious, even when we are rejected by others.
Of course the lesson on rejection goes both ways, doesn't it? After all, if I could be precious in God's eyes, so can you.
This is the message I believe we all need to hear loud and clear right now, that all of us can be precious, regardless of what we say and do, who or what we support politically, and where we find ourselves on the economic scale.
The way we treat each other matters.
Twice a week we set up a food pantry for people to come and shop, selecting from a variety of canned and dry goods, fresh produce, and frozen meats and fish. Many who come are so thankful that we are there for them. They don't just thank us; they thank God for sending us to them.
As we we make the space more comforting and loving, more of the younger families come.
When we treat each other with love and respect, trying to see each other as God sees us, we connect and become family.
So, I ask your prayers today for the people we serve. Whether you know them by name because you have volunteered to serve with us, or not, please pray for the precious who are the rock of their families, seeking to provide with less than they need.
If we all learn to see each other as precious, imagine what a wonderful world this could be.
More to come...