They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for, but you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession.
1 Peter 2:8b-9, NIV
If you are a human being, you have stumbled. Stumbling is part of what we do as humans. We can’t help ourselves. We mess up. Sometimes we mess up and we keep going with little or no effect on our lives. Sometimes we mess up and change the course of our lives. Sometimes we mess up because we are knowingly disobedient. Sometimes we mess up unknowingly. The point is, to be human is to be imperfect.
One of the hardest times to be obedient is when others around us are being disobedient. This is especially the case when the disobedience of others negatively impacts our lives. The sting is worse when we are trying our best to live according to God’s will and plan for our lives while holding up the light of Christ.
In other words, being an actual Christian is hard. When we set our minds on living as Christians ought instead of just keeping up appearances, life is not always a bed of roses. We will be tested and in extreme cases persecuted. While in the United States, Christian persecution is not a thing, somewhere in this world, Christians are being persecuted for following Christ. In comparison, we have it made here in the United States. However, we still keep stumbling.
So, what is the solution? It’s simple, we are to act like the chosen people we are. We are to act like a royal priesthood called by God to represent God in this world. We are to be a holy nation of believers through our common bond as part of the body of Christ. We are to act like God’s special possession and be the children of God we were created to be.
We all remember what our parents said to us when we went somewhere with or without them. We are to act like we had some sense and represent the family well. Just like with our parents, we are called by God to be different. When we asked our parents why we could not be like our friends, they would always tell us we are different because we belong to them and were part of a different family.
God has called us to be different. We were born again to be different. We have a different set of responsibilities than other people in this world. We were chosen to be different. We were chosen simply because we chose to let God love us through Christ Jesus. While this life is not easy, it is still a life worth living.
Believers, let’s not get weary in well-doing. Let’s not fret over the expectations of God. Let’s not look back like Lot’s wife. We were not called to pillars of salt. We were called to be beams of light. Light always wins over darkness and because we are chosen, we will always get back up when we stumble.