“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 marvelous light.” (I Peter 2:9 NKJV)
Acknowledging the attribute that the Apostle Peter applies to the church, the body of Christ, we are accurately described as members of a royal priesthood. This characteristic carries with it some responsibility, applicable to all Christians. Side note: Don’t let the word “responsibility” scare you. Instead let it supplant “irresponsibility; not as a job, but as a justified duty we have been assigned.
Our responsibility, think of it as being a reliable member of a team that has been regulated to construct a bridge to provide a direct path for people to get from one place to another, without harm, and surely find true safety on the other side. Let’s go back in time, before Christ was crucified and the veil of the temple curtain was torn into. In those days, on The Day of Atonement—only the high priest could go behind the curtain, and only under the strictest circumstances. The inescapable lesson for the Israelites was that the presence of God could not be entered glibly and casual. The High priest would go into the holiest of holy places and present sacrifices for our sins. He would be our communicator with God. He served as our bridge to heaven. Still back in time, Christ being our High Priest atoned for our sins on Calvary so that we could be in a safe place; a place where we have peace with God. Now, let’s flash forward, acknowledging that believers today do not have to go through a human priest to get to God, but they can boldly approach the throne of grace.
Here is where our bridge construction responsibility comes in! We are responsible, as members of a royal priesthood, as children of the King, to make it possible through our sharing of the gospel and through our giving of our personal testimonies, and by our priceless sanctified conduct, that unbelievers will be moved to cross over the bridge and get to God; moved to walk away from darkness into His marvelous light; moved to cross over from the place of certain eternal death to the certain place where they can have eternal life. Yes, not only do we have the privilege to go to God in prayer, but we have the responsibility to help others come to a place of safety. Another side note: Notice “others” is plural, meaning more than one other person. Our bridge construction assignment is ongoing.
For you see, just like that bridge construction project or road construction project in your town that seems like it will never end, as long as we are on this earth, our bridge construction work must continue. If you have not been touched by this meditation yet, know that the Lord is depending on us to do our part as members of a royal priesthood. And while we may not like to see heavy traffic crossing our bridges in real life, we ought to want to see a strong flow of sinners coming to the place of safety. There is always room for one more. Consequently, we should agree that our work on our bridge construction assignment is ongoing and must not cease.
Let’s resume our work on the bridge construction today! That’s part of our responsibility! So why are we waiting, hesitating, and postponing doing what we are responsible for doing? Let’s get busy! You are going to “work” today, no question about it! You are going to work on “the bridge” this Tuesday! Have a sense of urgency and be stimulated, motivated, and activated by the word of God above and below. Be blessed!
“Don’t overlook the obvious here, friends. With God, one day is as good as a thousand years, a thousand years as a day. God isn’t late with his promise as some measure lateness. He is restraining himself on account of you, holding back the End because he doesn’t want anyone lost. He’s giving everyone space and time to change.” (2 Peter 3:9-10 The Message Bible)
Still committed to the climb,
Mark L. King