Have you ever failed a test? Well, this one is about me.
“And you have caused them to become a Kingdom of priests for our God. And they will reign on the earth” (Revelation 5:10 NLT).
My Royal Priesthood Test
My dental appointment a few months ago to reset and tighten a dental implant was for 11:30 a.m. I arrived and took my seat in the office at 11:20. About 30 minutes later, I was escorted back to a dental chair. I waited in the chair for another 30 minutes. When a dental assistant finally came in to tell me that someone would be with me shortly, I was feeling a bit overlooked and disrespected. So, my response was something like, “Who’s coming and what does ‘shortly’ mean? As soon as she walked out, I remembered that only a few days earlier, Bishop Owens had preached from Hebrews 10:36, “You Have Need of Patience.” Wait! Was this a test?
In the Revelation text above, the twenty-four elders, likely representing the church (us), were worshipping and singing a song about Jesus in which they exclaimed that He has redeemed us with His blood and made us a Kingdom of priests. Peter affirmed that we are a royal priesthood (1 Peter 2:9). That is what we are now! Later, we will reign with Jesus on the earth. So, if I am a royal priest, what does that look like? How should I behave? Should a royal priest snap at someone in a dental office? No! I felt convicted and ashamed.
How do we win others to Christ? By displaying God’s love for everyone; by being His true image-bearers; by possessing and demonstrating God’s communicable attributes, i.e., holy, loving, just, good, merciful, gracious, wise, faithful, truthful, and patient. In other words, we should always behave and look like royal priests.
It was not right for me to speak sharply to the dental assistant who was only doing her job. I may have failed the test in the dental office. But it was not for naught. I learned from that experience, that I must NEVER be unguarded, nor unGod(ed). I must always be a ROYAL PRIEST! Full disclosure—I still get impatient at times. But I am a work in progress, and I am doing MUCH better!
Focus Quote: “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.”
–1 Peter 2:9 NKJV