Okay, yes. That can be taken in several ways. My friends, my parents, and even my wife would probably agree with even the face value of that statement. And it's true, but allow me to add to it: By the grace of God, I am not normal human being.
Okay, you may not consider this a good thing. After all, when one is strange, they stand out -- and not always in a good way. Especially in this world today, with its pressure to normalize, to go with the flow, to accept social definitions of beauty, to accept political correctness as a replacement for morality, standing out isn't always pleasant. But I'm going to take this a step further:
We -- you and I -- not only stand out, but as children of the King, we are actually called to do just that.
1 Peter 2:9 reminds us, "But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light."
That word, "but," means there's a difference. We are different from those spoken of in the previous verses, who "stumble because they disobey the message (vs 8)."
But back for a second to verse 9. I actually like how the King James version puts it a little better: "But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people..."
This word, peculiar, has a couple different meanings, but they are related. Listen to the progression of definitions from dictionary.com: Strange. Odd. Uncommon. Unusual. Distinctive in nature or character. Belonging characteristically. Belonging exclusively.
We -- you and I -- are peculiarly God's. Nobody else has us. We don't belong to anyone else. We belong exclusively to God, and are therefore uncommon, unusual, strange, to a world that does not.
And because we are His, He calls us out of the mediocrity of common existence. You are a peculiar person, and you are called, as a child of the King, to peculiarity, to strangeness, to distinctiveness, and even to greatness, in His name.
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