A Charge to Keep

“And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.’” John 20:22-23 NKJV

For a long time my dad was the manager at a convenience store and service station. He would often ask my brother and I to help him with inventory and stocking, so we had the opportunity to see him interact with countless customers. On one particular occasion, a customer was upset that he had to follow certain procedures for paying for his gas purchase. He and my dad exchanged a few words, and the customer stormed out in frustration. As he left, my dad proclaimed to him, “I don’t make the rules!”

Looking back I realize that my dad was right. His job was not in the development of the rules and honestly it wasn’t even in the enforcement of those rules. His job was to proclaim those rules for those who came to the store. It’s very similar to our job as the Church. After His resurrection, Jesus visited the disciples a few times. In the instance above, He told the disciples that they were now being sent out to minister just as God had sent Jesus. Jesus then breathed on them and told them that the Spirit would go with them. Their message was that of forgiveness and redemption. It was also a message of warning for those who didn’t receive salvation. This charge hasn’t changed for the Church today. As we celebrate the resurrection of our Savior, let us also remember that we have a job to do. Let us proclaim the “rules” to as many as we can. And just as my dad found favor with his supervisors for a job well done, one day our Father will tell us “well done.”