Priesthood of all Believers

Whose work is ministry?  Ministry is the work of all Christians.  Read 1 Peter 2:4-5 and 9-10

⁴ As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by  God and precious to him— ⁵ you also, like living stones, are being built into a  spiritual house[a] to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable  to God through Jesus Christ.

⁹But 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. ¹⁰ Once you were not a people, but now you are  the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received  mercy.

This is a passage that will be familiar to those who have participated in a Walk to Emmaus.  We are part of the priesthood of all believers.

I know I keep saying it, but all of us are called to the work of servant leadership - ministry.  God will find us where we are, will work with us to answer our doubts, and will prepare us for the work.  Given all of that, we are God's chosen people - all of us - and we are now God's people.

Notice that there isn't anything in that passage that says we have earned this calling. God hasn't examined us and found us worthy. We are not worthy, but God has called us.  This is a form of grace, of mercy, of love.  God gives us this gift of a call out of God's mercy and love for us.  God changes us so that we are now holy.  Sacred.  Called. 

How can we ignore that?

Sorry for my lack of images - for some reason, they keep loading up in black and white.  I'll have to figure that out.