The Commission (2)

When a person gives his allegiance to Jesus, he becomes a part of God's family. And when a person becomes a part of God's family, he also becomes a part of God's army.

All armies have ranks: private, captain, general. God's army has two ranks: priest and high priest. And there is only one high priest. And his name is Jesus.

A priest's basic job is to represent people to God, and God to people. A priest must be able to explain God's message. He must be able to explain God's character. He must be able to intercede with God for any need a person may have: body, soul, or spirit. He must be able to help people enter into a relationship with God. He must be able to help anyone improve his realtionship with God, his walk with God, and his practice of how God designed him to be. (And we are all designed differently.)

And not just able to, but ready and willing, day or night, at the first sign of need.

When God created the world, he intended to be personally involved in it. To rule it. To grow it. But Adam and Eve sinned, and rejected God. Now, God is in a war to win back his creation, to win back his family.

Theologians define God's Kingdom as anywhere God rules. So, God, through his army, seeks to extend his rule, and gain back everything that is rightfully his. Every institution. Every business. Every art. Every science. Every life.

Indeed, this war is usually fought one life at a time. And the weapons used, are not the usual weapons of war. God's weapons are:

• Prayer.
• Scripture.
• Acts of love, service, and grace.
• The unity that surrounds this army of priests.
• Transformed lives.
• The lives of heroes, who regard the truths of God, as more real and more important, than the reality of this world, that they willingly sacrifice their claim on this world. Up to, and including, their lives. 

There are approximately 325 million people living in the US. Approximately, 25% of them (80 million people) consider themselves to be evangelical Christians. What if each one took seriously their role as a priest in God's army?

What if 80 million people:

• Prayed for God's presence in government, schools, universities, and corporations.
• Sought, not only to learn, but to freely share God's message of love, and forgiveness. To encourage. To give hope.
• To reach out in love, and service to the homeless, the foreigner, the disabled (whether physical, mental, or age), the lonely, and outcast.
• To honor other Christians, other churches, other groups of Christians, believing the best about them, speaking well of them, being supports, resources, and solutions for what they face.
• Spending as much time, if not more, being solutions, and positive influences, instead of critics, and complainers.

Mother Theresa moved into the slums of Calcutta to care and comfort the dying. During the Middle Ages, man and women, motivated by the love of God, moved into plague infested neighborhoods to care for the plague infected. Followers of Jesus have put themselves into impoverished situations to share Jesus' good news, and to provide health care, education, and clean drinking water. And during Roman times, God's family amazed people by how much they loved one another.

As God's priests, and God's family, we walk our way upstream, against the cultural flow. The media highlighted the visit of Vice President Pence (a follower of Jesus) to the Olympics games, and his ignoring / snubbing of the sister of the North Korean dictator. I'm sure his intention was to avoid seeming to give approval to North Korea, its policies, practices, and treatment of its people. But what if he viewed this woman like Jesus viewed the tax gatherers, and prostitutes? Not as one condemned by God's law, but one who God loves, and one who Jesus would (and did) sacrifice his life for. The media probably would never notice. But like the prostitutes, maybe she would.