Remember Your Exalted Status!
Gospel-Centered Mentoring
Do your mentees truly understand their exalted status before God? How often do you remind them who they are?
The biggest voices in Western culture continually tell us who they think we are: “You are special; you are unique; you can do anything you put your mind to.” It seems so inspirational until you realize that these encouragements are built on sand. Those same voices are the ones who insist there is no God; and, if there is no God, there is zero evidence that you are special or unique. If there is no God, you are the random product of “the pitiless indifference” of the Universe. Your talents, personality, race, and looks were all determined by a mindless roll of the dice. You are little more than an evolved ape just trying to survive like every other animal on the planet. You are another useless cog in a giant machine that mass-produces cosmic dust. You are nothing; you are a nobody; and in 200 years, nobody will remember your name.
But, if there is a God, and that God is the deity introduced to us in the Bible, then the simplest, poorest, most ordinary brother or sister in Christ has every reason to rejoice because of their exalted status. Listen to what Peter writes about those who follow this God.
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
Let’s briefly break down these descriptions to see just how special you and your Christian mentees are.
Chosen people. In grade school, my best friend Dave and I were scrawny, small, and nerdy, which meant we usually got picked last for sports teams on the playground. The best I could ever hope for was being picked before Dave so that at least I wasn’t dead last. Not much of a consolation prize. How many times did I hear, “Fine, we’ll take Matt.” But here Peter calls us a “chosen people.” God loves the whole world, but God chose you to be His very own.
Royal priesthood. Let’s look at the two components of this term separately: royal and priest. First, you are a son or daughter of the King Himself, which means you are a prince or princess. You have all the rights and privileges of being royalty, including full access to the King at any time. Everyone else needs to schedule an appointment, but not the King’s kids. There is a famous picture of President John F. Kennedy sitting at his desk in the Oval Office. This is the place where global decisions are made, where wars are declared, where bills are signed into law. It is a place of power. And the president’s son plays contentedly beneath the desk in that picture. Everyone else needs to request an appointment with the Commander-in-Chief, but the son has special access.
Second, you are a priest. God had promised already in the Old Testament that Israel would be a nation of priests (Exodus 19). But there was still a special class of priests chosen only from the tribe of Levi who represented the whole nation before God. No one else was allowed into His presence. With the death and resurrection of Jesus, however, that Old Testament priesthood was abolished, the temple curtain was torn in two, and the distance between God and ordinary people was completely removed.
As princes and priests, you are doubly welcomed before God. Princes and priests can go directly to their Father King without a mediator. They have direct access to the front of the line because they are both family and official ambassadors of humanity. It is difficult to overstate this honor you have been granted through Christ’s death and resurrection. King Charles is the reigning king of Great Britain and the Supreme Governor of the Church of England. In other words, he is essentially the king and chief priest of the U.K. But, as a Christian, you have the same status and value in God’s Kingdom.
A holy nation. Holy has two primary senses. First, holy means pure or innocent. Because Christ exchanged His righteousness for your sin on the cross, you are considered pure and innocent in the eyes of the Father, worthy to inherit His kingdom and cherished at every moment. Second, holy means “set apart.” You are set apart as God’s own for God’s purposes. You are not mindlessly wandering around the world wondering who you are or what you should be doing. You are called to be the hands, feet, ears, and voice of Jesus in all your vocations: husband, wife, single person, father, mother, grandparent, child, employer, employee, citizen. Whether you are a mother, a university president, a construction worker, a pastor, or a child, you have been set apart by God for His high purposes.
God’s special possession. If we’ve learned anything from the drama with Prince Harry and the British royal family, it’s this: just because you are royalty, that doesn’t mean you are accepted, loved, and close to your family members. It breaks your heart to see such pain and bitterness driving families apart. But Peter assures you that you are God’s special possession. You are close to God’s heart (Ps 148:14), once because He made you, twice because He bought you, and three times because He adopted you in baptism.
This all means that you truly belong. So many people feel like they don’t belong anywhere, not even in their own families. They feel isolated, forgotten, neglected, and devalued. But whenever you feel like you don’t belong in God’s family because of guilt, shame, or heartache, remember that you are His chosen child, His royal priest, His holy citizen, His special possession. You always have a seat at His table; He’s always listening; He’s always merciful. When you gather with His people around Word and sacrament, you belong; that is your family; that is your home away from home, while the New Heavens and Earth will be your eternal dwelling and playground.
What makes mentoring gospel-centered is flavoring the beginning, middle, and end of every mentoring session and interaction with mentees with this incredible identity. While gospel-centered mentors must sometimes use the law to convict and challenge mentees, their predominant message revolves around these truths: “You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”