Proclaim

"But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light." 1 Peter 2:9

Why does God bother to save anyone? Is it because we are so deserving or have great potential or so God can give us lots of stuff? I think anyone who really knows Jesus would answer that with a resounding NO!

But we often live like we think the answer is yes. We get angry with God when our grandma gets cancer or our marriage falls apart or our company goes belly-up and our income goes down the tube or our teenager gets pregnant or arrested for drugs. We cry out asking where are you God; make this go away God; why did You let this happen God? On and on we cry like we deserve better from God.

Romans 5:10 says that before we knew Jesus we were enemies of God. In Genesis 6:5 God says the heart and thoughts of people are evil all the time. So there is certainly nothing deserving about us that would cause God to sacrifice His Son on our behalf. The truth, though, is that having been rescued and redeemed by the death and resurrection of Jesus, God does lavish His love on us as sons and daughters. Galatians 4:4-7, 1 John 3:1

That doesn't mean we are immune to suffering or hardship. It may mean just the opposite. It is only through the failures, the tough times, the hardships that we understand that we are not in control and we learn to lean on God. Then we "proclaim the excellencies of Him of called you out of darkness..." We proclaim His salvation, His faithfulness, His comfort, His love - all the excellencies of God - as those around us watch how we live out our faith when hardships come. We are chosen, royal, holy, His possession so that we may tell others about this awesome God.