That’s a question every Christian needs to ask themselves.
Paul’s letter to the Christians in Ephesus starts out by telling us/them who he is: an apostle of Jesus, appointed by God. The use of “us/them” wasn’t some amorphous “the Bible was written for the ages” kind of thing. That opening verse included “the faithful in Christ Jesus” (NIV). That means anyone, from the beginning to the end, who is a follower of Jesus.
So who am I? “[Mark], [a radio guy for] Christ Jesus by the will of God.” I think I’ve used the “wrinkled bill” analogy before. Here’s the short version:
A wrinkled $20 bill is worth $20. A dirty $20 bill is worth $20. A pristine crisp new $20 bill is worth . . . $20. To God, your soul is worth the same as the murderous thug in prison, and the same as Billy Graham. You have the same value to God as BILLY GRAHAM! (So does that murderous thug.)
Also keep in mind that your vocation was appointed by God, too. I’m a radio guy. But I’m doing that because God put me there. Ravi Zacharias was put in place by God, too. So was the clerk at the convenience store, and the orderly cleaning bedpans in the hospital. Their soul has the same worth as yours, and they were put in their place by God. Chuck Smith gave a sermon where he said trying to be something God didn’t appoint you to be will be a disaster. Don’t try to be something you’re not equipped to be.
Back in the day of Abram (before he was called Abraham), there was a type of international treaty between a powerful nation and a weaker nation. They were called “Suzerain/Vassal” treaties. The first part of those treaties always listed everything the more powerful party has done for the lesser party. “The Nation of Mark has protected the Nation of Stitches (our pet Bichon) from starvation and weather.” That kind of thing.
It struck me one day that the book of Ephesians starts out with three chapters of what God has done for us. “Blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ” (NIV) in verse 3. But really, the first three chapters list everything God has done for us.
Then the rest of the letter is how we should act, based on the facts detailed in the first three chapters. BECAUSE God has been so good to us, our response should be [the rest of Ephesians]. If we don’t have that reaction, we haven’t fully comprehended what God has done.
That’s the pattern of the Suzerain/Vassal treaty. The Nation of Mark has given so much to the Nation of Stitches, that the Suzerain deserves the eternal devotion of the Vassal. So, don’t bite, don’t snarl, cuddle and play with, and I’ll keep feeding, grooming, and protecting.
And that’s the exact treaty God gave to Israel. “I’m God. I brought you out of Egypt. I took you through the desert, protected you from enemies, fed you, gave you water, and I’ll keep protecting you if you’ll be My people. Don’t worship other Gods, don’t make idols, keep the Sabbath, don’t kill.” Things like that.
Israel repeatedly signed on to that contract. Time and again they failed to live up to it. The book of Judges details a number of times Israel turned away from God, got in trouble, cried for help, and God gave it.
But eventually any Suzerain will get tired of being ignored. The Vassal owes a lot, and when there’s no respect, the Suzerain has the right to swat the Vassal. But God had mercy followed by mercy.
Until He’d had enough.
He let Assyria take over the Northern Kingdom. The Southern Kingdom lasted a bit longer, but in the end they hadn’t learned their lesson either. Babylon swatted.
So about two thousand years ago the ultimate Suzerain gave us the ultimate deal. “I got this,” He said. “You’ve been a faithless vassal, but since I love you guys so much, I’ll send My Son to pay the penalty for breaking My contract. No more swatting. Just do as I say, and you’ll get to live with Me forever. If you don’t, you’ll live forever without Me.”
That’s the message of the Bible.
Every large company has an organization chart of who reports to which supervisor. The plumber reports to the head of Maintenance. THAT person has a boss in Engineering. THAT person answers to some vice president or another. That goes on all the way to the owner of the corporation (or the CEO appointed by the major stockholders).
God owns the universe. He created it, and the universe includes you. You’re a vassal, God is the Suzerain. If God tells you to fix that clogged drain, as a plumber it’s your job to fix the drain. You can go curl up on any number of pillows or at the foot of the bed if you want as long as you fix the drain. Any time you tell your boss to go pound sand you risk getting fired.
You don’t want God’s pink slip.
Especially after all the spiritual blessings He’s given you.
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