Transforming LonelinessSample

Section Five:

In His very next breath after declaring that He calls us His friends, Jesus said this: “You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit” (John 15:16).

Why did He choose us? “He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him” (Eph. 1:4). You were designed for community and connection with God and others, and that connection was broken by sin. Now you’ve been chosen so that Jesus can present you as holy and blameless to the Father and your fellowship with God can be restored, now and for all eternity.

As one who is chosen by Jesus you’ve been given a new identity. And because you are chosen, you are part of God’s family. “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Pet. 2:9). Just as Jesus declared to crowds at Jericho that Zacchaeus belonged to His family, so, too, you belong to His family—His holy nation. He has transformed you from a lonely and condemned individual into a treasured member of the family of God. You’ve been made holy!

Questions:

1. Ponder your new identity as described in 1 Peter 2:9. How does this new identity alter your understanding of the person you see in the mirror?

2. What does it mean to you that you will be presented before God as “holy and blameless”? Think of three ways that this new identity might change the way you relate to others in an average week, making you less lonely and more connected to others in meaningful ways?

3. Pray, asking God to help you mature more and more into your role and identity as one who has received great mercy and can truly enjoy the friendship of God.