Do You Know Who I Am?

 

Occasionally I do something kind of dumb. I know, shocking, isn't it? Now what I am referring to here is I got caught in a rabbit hole of sorts while scrolling through a news site. I generally can ignore click-bait. But this time, for some bizarre reason, a little story caught my eye, and I dove in. It had to do with a girl who was suspended from school. She was only in elementary school, and the entire story was centered around her parting words as she left the principal's office. "Do you know who I am?" It was borderline ridiculous, and went on way too long, as these things normally do. Turns out, much to, alas, this principal's embarrassment and dismay, she was the child of a powerful politician. I know, like I said, ridiculous. Utter waste of my time. Until my devotional time this morning.

I Peter 1:17-19 says this: "And if you call on Him as Father who judges impartially according to each one's deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver, or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot."

I thought of that story. I wonder if I were in the position of that principal, if I would have had the wisdom, or the courage to say what I was thinking as I was reading the account. (Yes, I'm aware that it was total fiction.) My inclination would have been to say to the child at some point, "Yes, I know who you are, and now I know whose you are. I would recommend that you act like it, then perhaps you would not be in this situation." Easy to say, I suppose, when you aren't facing an angry powerful parent. 

I believe that was more or less the intent behind Peter's admonition to the exiles that he was writing his letter to. I was caught by the word ransomed. That means that a price was paid for someone's freedom. I am an avid reader of suspense. Nothing more thrilling than a good kidnapping to get your heart racing. The more valuable the target is, the higher the ransom. I've read books where the victim was a President's child, and the ransom was something far more valuable than money. The safety of the entire free world was at stake. And I've read books where the victim was a common citizen where the demanded price for their safety was an exact amount of money, or even sometimes information or exchange of action. 

Nowhere, ever in history, though, has a ransom been exacted such as the one Jesus paid for our freedom from the clutches of the sin that had a grip on our souls. The tenterhooks of Satan were buried deep in our souls, intent on dragging us into the depths of Hell; until Jesus spilled His Holy blood on Calvary, defeated death and the grave by walking out of that tomb. He bought our freedom, paid the price, and we are His. 

So then, Peter appeals to us, as exiles here on this earth, in this physical life, who call on Abba Father, to conduct ourselves in a certain way. What way? Think on that. 

He goes on to say this: vs 22: Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart.

And: 2:1 ; So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander.

1:14-16; As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct. Since it is written, 'You shall be holy, for I am holy.'

So, readers, the statement is never, 'Do you know who I am?', but rather, 'Do I know Whose I am?' And if we do know Whose we are, then I am convicted that, given the invaluable ransom that was paid to make it so, then we surely should do no less than to make every effort to act like it.