“But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light…” (1 Peter 2:9).
            Our Lord Jesus told His disciples that they did not choose Him, He chose them. He first loved us even when we were in our fallen, unlovable state of sin. That is a really remarkable and empowering fact! That kind of compassion and grace fosters our loving response to Him (1 John 4:19).
            Because of the fallen nature, it’s natural for us to like people who like us. Yet Jesus said to each of us, “I choose you,” even when we didn’t like Him, or didn’t know about Him, or had the wrong ideas about Him. When we respond to that loving choice and choose to love and follow His ways, it becomes our sure foundation (1 Cor. 3:11).
            We are sealed for the Day of Redemption, the 7th and last Day in God’s prophetic great Week. “Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: ‘The Lord knows those who are His,’ and, ‘Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity’ ” (2 Tim. 2:19).
            Of course we know we won’t do this perfectly on this side of Heaven, but that is the power of being chosen. “Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love…” (Eph. 1:4). We are without blame in God’s sight through the blood of Jesus. We stand in His righteousness before God our Father. It’s our sure foundation. It is this breastplate of right-standing with God that covers and protects our heart from the lies of Satan.
            The Chronos Lesson: That is why Jesus is our Cornerstone. We’re being chiseled into His likeness through the circumstances of this earthly life. Now the chiseling process isn’t always pleasant. And it can take much longer based on how we react or respond to our circumstances.
            Reacting is re-acting; that is, mimicking the same action that was done to us by those in the world. That’s what the New Testament calls walking by the flesh. Responding is re-sponding; that is, saying the same thing Jesus would say in that situation. It’s walking by the Spirit.
            We’re living in a time when the world is hacking away at us, seemingly on every front. Jesus warned us to expect this, mainly because Satan knows his time is running out. Chiseling can be a downright wearying process. That’s why we need to be reminded that we are a chosen generation.
            We were born for such a time as this. Because He chose us first, it doesn’t matter whether or not we feel ready. What matters is the power of His choice: we are a royal priesthood—kings and priests on behalf of our Father. We are a holy nation of called out ones, washed in the blood of the Lamb. We are His special people—the Church, His Body, and His Bride.
            We are His representatives on the earth with a mandate to be light in the midst of this present darkness. Because of His loving choice, we need to choose daily—and sometimes hourly or even minute-by-minute—to respond as He would. We need to guard against reacting as the world does.
            This means we don’t need to be troubled whether or not they like us. Our firm foundation is our identity in Jesus, our loving Savior. We are to speak as He spoke, speaking the truth in love. We don’t need to speak division. We need to speak about Christ’s loving choice.
            Christ came full of grace and truth—a singular, powerful force. And of that fullness, we have received grace for grace—an unending supply of grace—so that we can extend grace to others.
            That is the power of being chosen. When we choose to respond with grace and truth, it shines a spotlight on He who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. We stand for truth where we can and how we’re led, in order to hold back the darkness. But most importantly, we choose to respond His way with grace because we are the chosen generation that is preparing the way for His return.
            Our purpose now, even as the end of this age draws near, is to offer a merciful warning. It’s time to get into the Ark, our Lord Jesus Christ.