Rev 5:10    You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth."

        

This is part of the song that was sung in heaven before the Lamb, in John's Revelation, declaring the work of the Lamb and his achievement through the Cross. There is an echo here of the Old Covenant established at Sinai when the Lord said to Moses, “Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” (Ex 19:5,6). That was God's intention for Israel, to be a special people, a people who acted like priests in that their calling was to bring others (the rest of the world) to the Lord. That's what a priest does; he stands before the people and brings them into the Lord's presence. That was the calling of the one nation who were then the people of God.

 

Now the people of God are drawn from every nation because of the work of Jesus on the Cross. These people who he has saved, are now part of God's kingdom. They are under His rule. That is the first thing, but the second is that they are to see themselves as priests who bring the rest of the world to the Lord. They are also called to reign or rule over the affairs of the earth, as guided and led by God through His Holy Spirit, as we saw yesterday. This is who we are.

We are to rule over our circumstances, not letting them dominate us, as we let Jesus lead us by his Spirit. So, as God rules over us, we display His glory to the rest of the world, and as Jesus leads us, so we control circumstances and not them us. Wow! Do we see this, do we understand this? We have been called by God and as soon as we respond to that calling we become intermediaries between God and the rest of the world. Our 'reigning' is a benign reign. It is not dominating over others but simply standing above the affairs of the world as His ambassadors who bring the message of love and blessing to whoever else will hear it and receive it. Isn't that a different perspective from the one that so many have so often of being insignificant beings at the mercy of the winds of fortune and of the enemy? No way!