“But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.” I Peter 2:9-10
I remember growing up and always hearing that my brother and I were gonna grow up to be preachers. I remember one of our church members even referred to me as “little preacher.” This was usually a “prophecy” that was bestowed upon any young men and women who showed even a little bit of excitement about being at church. And it wasn’t a bad thing, but it did bring with it a weird bit of pressure. They had me wondering if maybe I had missed a memo from God about my ministry future. As I’ve grown older, I realize that as Christians we are all called to various types of ministry, not just preaching. I also realize, interestingly enough, that we are all our own priests.
In the Old Testament (and New Testament prior to Jesus’ death), the priests were charged with caring for the temple. Another of their main responsibilities was serving as an earthly mediator between men and God. They offered sacrifices on the altar of God to atone for the sins of the believers in their purview. This all changed when with the death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus. The Bible says that the veil of the temple was torn in two (Mark 15:38). This represented a shift in how believers access God. Our high priest/mediator in Heaven is Jesus, while here on earth we no longer need a mediator. We have access to God thru Jesus (which is why we pray “in Jesus’ name”). We are the temple that we should care for (I Corinthians 3:16), and we are to offer sacrifices to God upon the altar of our hearts. Even our very lives are to be sacrificed to Him (Romans 12:1). So, Sister Rogers had it partially right. She should’ve called me “little priest.”