peculiar people

"you were born to privelege, and with that comes specific obligation" -Danielle Debabarack (something like that. whatever, shes a fictional character. hence, not going to get mad about me misspelling the last name)

so true, though.
let me back up..
so today i'm studying and notice on my notes on the previous page that i had made a note to look up the word "peculiar" because jonathon had used it in his message last week and that particular word had struck a chord with me. (not just because its a dc talk song either).
so the word peculiar in hebrew is actually the word cegullah.. seg-ool-law. it comes from a word meaning shut up, or closely protected. the word itself means jewel; peculiar, as in a treasure; proper good; special.

in the new testament, peculiar is translated in two instances from two similar greek words. periousios (per-ee-oo-see-os) means being beyond the usual; special; one's own.
peripoiesis (per-ee-poy-ay-sis) means acquisition; preservation.

i'd always heard the phrase "peculiar people" and taken it to mean different, or weird, or strange. like you know, aliens..in the world not of it.. that sort of thing. which has a measure of truth in it. but to be called a peculiar people is alot more than that...
not until after i looked these up did i realize that every instance in the old testament when God calls His people a peculiar people, He's making reference to them being above every other people, being a treasure to Him, valued above the rest of the earth.
Titus 2:14 says that Christ gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.
---this peculiar people is one that has nothing wrong with it, one that has been perfected to be God's own, valuable, fiercely protected, and designed to be passionate after God's work.
1 Peter 2:9 says the we are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people (NIV says a people belonging to God, that [we] may declare the praises of him who called [us] out of darkness into his wonderful light).
--- Read the chapter before this. 1 Peter chapter 1, after a greeting and encouragement to the believers, is a charge to be ready for action. to live holy as God is holy, because He is holy. It's a wakeup call, a reminder that as born-again Christians, we're part of a bigger picture now, and we can't go on living like we did when we were bling to the vision. We have the gospel of the Holy Spirit now (something that all creation is jealous of!); we have been made a peculiar- and so we need to live and adjust our lives accordingly, ready to play an active part.

To me, it's both humbling and emboldening. We are the treasure of God.. a singular people created and maintained singularly for Him. And with that honor, we have the responsibility to live up to that. dude..... dude.

<3