1 Peter 2:10 KJV
[10] “which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.”
Peter wants us to go back and remember our past. He wants us to remember when we were on the outside looking in. As believers, it is good to remember who we were before He found us. We were dead in our trespasses and sins. We were lost with no hope and without God. We were poor and needy individuals who belonged to Satan and were called children of wrath. We were aliens from the commonwealth of Israel. We were known as Gentile dogs. We were sinners who were on our way to Hell.
Our past is what makes us appreciate our present! Our verse reminds us that we are now the people of God. We have obtained mercy through the Lord Jesus Christ. We no longer have to live under the guilt of our past, but we can rest in His lovingkindness.
Imagine what your life would be like today if you had not received Jesus as your Savior. God extended His mercy by allowing us to be saved by hearing the gospel. The Bible declares that His mercies are new every morning. I’m thankful that we can depend on the mercy of God every day.
We can claim His mercy as we approach the throne of God in prayer. The Devil will try to defeat us by bringing up our faults and failures, but we can rely on the faithfulness of God. God knows our shortcomings, but He will show mercy when we ask.
I think it’s good to remember where we came from, but we should not dwell on our past. Sometimes, we cannot get past our past. We allow the past to hinder us from serving God. We are unmerciful when it comes to our shortcomings. We must remember to show mercy where God has shown mercy. If God has forgiven and forgotten, then so should we. Sometimes, the best answer is acknowledging that we serve a merciful God. No, we don’t deserve it, but we can enjoy it, claim it, and depend on it! If God’s mercy worked yesterday, it will work today. How do I know that He will show me mercy? I know He will show me mercy because He has already shown me mercy. I simply remember the past.