Peculiarly His Own

“...you are to be a people peculiarly His own...” Deuteronomy 26:18

This morning, it is raining, and I especially appreciate the rain today! I can imagine that our grass and the plants are hungrily “drinking” the drops. When I woke up this morning, there was water coming out of our faucets! I could take a leisurely bath and shampoo my hair! We have been praying the “Oratio Imperata Ad Fluvian Petendam” asking the Lord to give us rain. For days now, there has been no water coming out of our taps. There have been lines of people waiting with buckets and any kind of container for a water truck to pass by and give them water. 

A storm of controversy has erupted regarding the water crisis. Whether or not  it is “fake” or “contrived” by corrupt men with dishonorable intentions, the rain falls on them as well. In Matthew 5, Jesus tells His disciples that we should love our enemies, and pray for those who give us a hard time, that way we will be children of God. He makes the sun rise both on evil men and His faithful people. He makes the rain fall on the just and the unjust. Jesus says, “Be perfect, just as your Heavenly Father is perfect.” How can we be perfect? We with our pettiness, our weaknesses and idiosyncrasies? This seems impossible! Perfect comes from a root word that means “hitting the mark”. To be perfect means we absolutely hit the mark, to be exactly what God wants us to be. It may be impossible to our way of thinking, but with God as our partner, He will make a way. After all, He said that He has began a good work in us, and He will finish what He has started (Philippians 1:6). And all because we are a people peculiarly His own!