You Have Tasted
That The LORD
Is Good
Rid yourselves, therefore, of
all malice, and all guile, insincerity, envy, and all slander. Like newborn
infants, long for the pure, spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow into
salvation – if indeed you have tasted that the LORD is good.
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. For it stands in scripture: “See, I am laying in Zion a stone, a
cornerstone chosen and precious; and whoever believes in him will not be put to
shame.” To you then who believe, he is precious; but for those who do not believe,
“The stone that the builders rejected has become the very head of the corner,”
and “A stone that makes them stumble, and a rock that makes them fall.” They
stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.
But you are a chosen race, a
royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, in order that you may
proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his
marvelous light. 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.
1 Peter 2:1-10
Sometimes our own families can
feel like enemy camps, when they are not exactly what we want them to be.
Sometimes even our spiritual family at church lets us down. By changing our
focus we can learn to give up the naive idea that others will always meet our
lofty expectations.
Instead of focusing on others, we can find hope in the truth that we are one of God’s very own children through faith in Jesus. He has chosen us. The LORD has brought us into His family, and we can be sure that our relationship with Him will never be severed. He will never treat us as an enemy. When others let us down, instead of giving in to discouragement, change your focus and remind yourself that we who have put our faith in Jesus are God’s children – cherished and cared for by Him.
When others let you down, look up!
Our Daily Bread –
July 16, 2006