The Upper Room Daily Devotion – Sunday, 5 January 2014 “The Unlikely King” Read 1 Peter 2

The Upper Room Daily Devotion – Sunday, 5 January 2014 “The Unlikely King” Read 1 Peter 2: ⁴ Come to him, a living stone, though rejected by mortals yet chosen and precious in God’s sight, and ⁵ like living stones, let yourselves be built^[a] into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. ⁶ For it stands in scripture:

“See, I am laying in Zion a stone,
    a cornerstone chosen and precious;
and whoever believes in him^[b] will not be put to shame.”

⁷ To you then who believe, he is precious; but for those who do not believe,

“The stone that the builders rejected
    has become the very head of the corner,”

⁸ and

“A stone that makes them stumble,
    and a rock that makes them fall.”

They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.

⁹ But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people,^[c] in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

¹⁰ Once you were not a people,
    but now you are God’s people;
once you had not received mercy,
    but now you have received mercy.

Footnotes:

a. 1 Peter 2:5 Or you yourselves are being built

b. 1 Peter 2:6 Or it

c. 1 Peter 2:9 Gk a people for his possession

You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people.(1 Peter 2:9 (NRSV))

Eric is an unlikely king, I thought as I helped him put on the robe he would wear in our church’s Christmas pageant. My sons were to be the other two kings. Eric (not his real name) and my boys were good friends, and Eric was at our house every day. He was always cheerful, but his clothes were dirty and he obviously didn’t bathe often. A teacher at the boys’ school had told me that his family didn’t have running water in their home. When the local newspaper published children’s letters to Santa, Eric’s list included such items as a heater, a blanket, a phone, a bed, pots, pans, clothes, and shoes. One cold December day, Eric came down the street carrying a big box. It was full of gifts he had bought at a flea market, and he proudly gave each member of our family a present. I still cherish the vase Eric gave me. It is a reminder of a child who gave joyously and generously. Eric, the unlikely king, reminds me that Jesus, too, was an unlikely king, born in a smelly stable. Yet through Jesus we are all made members of a royal family and a royal priesthood.(The Author-Mary Brooke Casad (Texas, USA))

Thought for the Day: In every person the Holy Child is revealed.

Prayer: Holy God, may we help all children know that in your family, they are indeed kings and queens. As we seek to share your love, help us be open to receiving the gifts each child brings. Amen.

Prayer focus: Teachers of young children

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