We Are His Treasured Possession!

"Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine," (Exodus 19:5 NIV)

To obey God "fully" is to acknowledge His authority in all things and to simply, just do it! There is no other way that we can see ourselves as His treasured possession, chosen specifically by Him, and given favor so all the nations shall see us as His.

Of course obeying God comes with a price tag that many of us already understand. It means we withstand the ridicule and derision of those who think they know than God--who are actually the Godless and we know them by their behavior. We are belittled by those who attempt to derail everything we say because of their own insecurities, guilt, and self-hatred. We stand up to their accusations of hate because we know it is not us who hate--when we are filled with the love of God--there is no room for hatred, but watch how they personalize attacks against those who dare to stand up for Truth and Righteousness according to God's Word and not our opinions.

Yes, there is a price to be paid for obeying God and some are paying with their lives when they refuse to recant their faith in God. These are the true heroes of faith in Christ Jesus. Those who will not turn back or turn away from serving an all-wise God, though physical death may be the end result, God's reward for obedience is greater than the hatred of those who will not hear Him and obey.

Yesterday, as I often do, I commented on an article in the New York Times regarding Ireland's referendum. Part of the caption to the article started, "love prevails..." and that is what caught my attention. My comment, "Too bad many cannot distinguish between love and lust," and it triggered so much vitriol that I was truly amazed. Hatred spewed from the fingers of many who replied and I just sat in wonderment watching them, thankful that I have so much of God's love within that I never went into attack mode as they did.

This is when we know we are His treasured possession--when we can respond to someone attacking us, without attacking in return. I am so thankful to God that He has chosen me to be His, curbs my tongue and my fingers when the godless attack and propels me to show them respect for their opinions, even when they won't respect mine.

When we are filled with His goodness, we recognize those who are hurting because their hatred directed at us, is without merit. They react out of guilt and self-hatred and when we dare to say anything that is remotely different from what they think--they attack. I truly feel sorry for them and I'm praying that they will eventually see the need to know God and be set free from the hatred that holds them so tightly. They fail to understand that it is not us--the Believers who obey God--who hate them, but them who hate us because we dare to believe God and obey Him.

This world is in need of much prayer for all--the saved and unsaved, but while we wait for the unsaved to get a revelation of God's love, we can rest in the knowledge that we are His treasured possession. Keep praying!