“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light.” (1 Peter 2:9)
In the world today, it’s easy for young people to get used to adults taking care of certain responsibilities. Parents pay the bills, run the errands, take care of the car and cook the meals. Most kids don’t really pay attention to those things, because it’s something that is already handled for them. In the event that the parents can’t fix something, they just call a professional to come in and take care of it. While we can be thankful for people carrying out their vocations as parents and professionals, the unfortunate part of this is that it has changed our view of service in the church. At some point, many of us have bought the lie that meaningful service is handled solely by adults, is something only for adults even if others want to help or is reserved for the “professionals”–pastors and other church workers. All of these are dangerous mentalities because they are contrary to the Bible.
When Peter talks about the “royal priesthood,” he refers to all believers, not just adults, believers who have gone through confirmation, lifelong Lutherans, pastors or other professional church workers. In the Old Testament, priests were the ones who had direct access to God. Because of Jesus, all believers are priests by virtue of their Baptism. We all have equal access to God through faith in Jesus Christ. Nothing can increase our membership or status in the priesthood. What exactly does it mean to belong to this priesthood? We belong to God, we are chosen by Him and we have been “called out of darkness into His wonderful light.” All these are actions that God does towards us. Our only action as part of this priesthood of all believers is to respond to this amazing gift and “declare the praises” of God to all those around us. As a result, service is not restricted to adults or church workers. All baptized believers are priests and are called to preach the Gospel to and serve their neighbors, both near and far. It is a God-given blessing to serve others and this blessing is given to all believers. Let no one try to take away the joy and blessing of service from any believer, whether young or old, life-long believer or new convert, church worker or lay person.
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Prayer Starter: Jesus, thank You for taking away our sins so that we can be a part of God’s family. Thank You for the blessing of service that we have been given in order to point others to You. Let us go about the work set before us with a joyful heart in response to the grace You have given us as members of the priesthood of all believers. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
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