You Really Are Something!

9 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; 10 for you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. — 1 Peter 2:9–10 (NASB95) 

 

Remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would strongly be tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare. All day long we are, in some degree, helping each other to one or other of these destinations. It is in the light of these overwhelming possibilities, it is with the awe and the circumspection proper to them, that we should conduct all our dealings with one another, all friendships, all loves, all play, all politics. There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. —C. S. Lewis, in The Weight of Glory

Who are you? We answer that question in many ways. We pull out our genealogy charts and point to ancestors. Or we generalize it a bit and find identity in our race or ethnic group, our nationality, or maybe we use our profession or some other means to explain who we are.

Whoever you are, C.S. Lewis had it right. You are no mere mortal. I've read that at times, somebody takes on the identity of a comic book superhero. They actually don a costume and some of them even go out into the community and do good deeds, or try to fight crime. A lot of people want to be a superhero. They aren't satisfied with being a "mere mortal."

It sounds a bit far-fetched, doesn't it? Take a good, long look in the mirror. See anybody who looks like something but a mere mortal? Probably not, but you aren't looking deep enough. You need to look past the externals. You need to get to the heart of man, the spirit of man, and to things eternal. You were created in the image of God. That's right there at the beginning of the Bible. From the start, God intended things for you, and from you that stretch far beyond mere mortal.

The apostle Peter knew something about you as well. Mere mortal? No way. Chosen race, royal priesthood, specially chosen by God to be one of his people. No, if you think "mere mortal," you'll always shortchange your real identity. It's not something you can see with your physical eyes, but it's no less real. You were created for amazing, fantastic, mind-blowing things. Stand tall, Christian. You are really something!