However, you are chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, people who belong to God. You were chosen to tell about the excellent qualities of God, who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
(1 Peter 2:9 GW)
I got a real revelation just before the great-lock down of 2020. We were in California when the Governor issued a stay at home order for the elderly and the vulnerable. I didn’t think it applied to me until I heard them say that anyone over 60 was included. The next morning, we headed for Tucson. We arrived just in time to find out we were to stay at home because our job is non-essential. It’s good that or government leaders are concerned for particularly weak and endangered populations, but I had to protest that not all who are over 60 are elderly, vulnerable and non-essential.
Elderly, in this context, means showing signs of old age, especially frailty. Vulnerable, according to the Cambridge dictionary, means “able to be easily physically, emotionally, or mentally hurt, influenced, or attacked.” And finally, non-essential implies that the major function of one’s life is not needed or necessary. Well, I am none of those things. The Bible says that I am an elder, not elderly. That means I am wise and to be treated with respect. According to the Bible, I am victorious, strong in the Lord, able to do all things. Vulnerable? I think not. And if you don’t think my job is essential, just wait ‘til you hit the Great White Throne and re-evaluate.
Here’s the point. We can’t let the world around us tell us who we are. That applies to the Church as well as to the individual. The Church, whether gathered in a building, praying in their own homes, or joining together online, is the Body of the Lord Jesus Christ. Without us, He has no witness in the earth. We are a “chosen generation, a royal priesthood and a holy nation.” What we do in concert with each other and the Holy Spirit is not “non-essential.” We, the Church, are vital to the very existence of good in the earth. Enjoy today’s essential time with the other parts of His Body with whom you are connected. The world can’t live, really live, without us.
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