Thought for Thursday
For thou are an holy people unto the Lord thy God; the Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto Himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth. Deuteronomy 7:6
The late Albert Ramsay told us of visiting the Parliament buildings in Ottawa, and during the tour of those august chambers, his group was drawn aside because of a special tour that was being conducted for some dignitaries who were also visiting the nation’s capital. The guide referred to them as VIPs – very important people. Albert chuckled and told the person who was with him that, as far as Heaven was concerned, those dignitaries were insignificant, and those two Christians were actually the VIPs. How right he was!
Just like Israel was a special people to God in the Old Testament, we are His special people in this dispensation of grace. Among all of the people who dwelt on the earth during those years, amid all of God’s blessings dispensed on the just and the unjust, His eye was especially on a little group who He was pleased to call His special people.
We know that being God’s special people is not something that we can take credit for. He is the one who has saved us and made us His own. And when the dispensation of grace has ended, God will once again bring Israel into His special place of favour. But now that He has placed us into His own family, we can rejoice at what we are, and we can claim our family privileges.
Yes, we have responsibilities as God’s special people. We need to be ever mindful of Whose we are and Who we serve. But we also need to be aware that God is delighted with us and delights to bless us.
Are you living as one of God’s special people today? Am I? -Jim MacIntosh