A peculiar people

But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvellous light; - 1 Peter 2v9

I chose the KJV choice of the word ‘peculiar’ here simply because I like that word and I like the history of words. Today ‘peculiar’ has a negative connotation. When someone is peculiar it means strange, weird, or out of place.

When the KJV translators chose this word it meant a special, unique possession belonging only to its owner. That is the sense of the word here. In Christ we are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, and a holy nation. We are His unique people. We are different from the rest. We belong to Him and Him alone. As such we are indeed peculiar. If we are not peculiar we are not going to be able to proclaim His praises. It is our specialness, our peculiarity if you will, that makes our lives stand out from the world. The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Etymology uses this phrase – ‘independent of the jurisdiction of the ordinary.’ If we are bound by the jurisdiction of the ordinary we can never make a difference.

I hope we are not ashamed to be peculiar. I hope our peculiarity from the jurisdiction of the ordinary allows us to proclaim His praise to a world trapped in darkness. May our peculiarity allow us to shine in darkness.