Today’s Reading: Exodus 28 & 29

Sometimes it’s great to be chosen. Chosen first for the kickball team in elementary school? Awesome! Chosen as a finalist in the Miss Coburn County pageant? Swell! Chosen to work in a newly formed house of worship which requires you to slaughter and burn animals, not to mention splashing and getting splashed with lots of blood? Um…not so much.

In today’s reading, God’s instructions are for Aaron and his descendents to become the priests of the new tabernacle. And while this role has a few perks, it doesn’t really seem like the most fun job in the world. There’s a lot of blood involved and, in all likelihood, a lot of stress about making sure to follow the rules. Maybe that’s why God had to appoint some people to the position of priest – no one would willingly apply for the job!

Whatever the reason, God chose Aaron and his family to be the first priests of Israel’s new place of worship. Now, Aaron may have seen this coming. After all, he had been in a position of leadership among the people of Israel since before they left Egypt. Because of that, it makes sense that God would entrust Aaron with this most important of tasks. What I find interesting, however, is that it wasn’t only Aaron who was chosen. It was Aaron’s family! I can imagine a teenage boy being told by his father, “No hanging out on the beach for you this summer. You’re going to be a priest!”

What? This was not the life that these young men chose. Rather, it was a life chosen for them. They had no say in the matter whatsoever. What’s more, they were chosen to be priests not because of some standard of purity or ethics to which they adhered. No, they were chosen based solely on lineage. Who was their father? OK, then they will be priests.

Can you imagine if God worked that way today? Rather than choosing to go into the ministry, you might just be dragged, kicking and screaming – into the church to work for God! Well, the truth is that God does still work that way. Take it from one who has been dragged back to the church kicking and screaming. I tried on multiple occasions to walk away from the task that God has given me as a full-time pastor and, every time, it has not gone well for me.

The fact is, my only choice in the matter is whether or not I’m obedient to the will of God – a choice that Aaron and his sons also had. Just like us, they could have poo-pooed the idea that they were supposed to be priests and simply carried on with their lives. Although, I’m guessing it wouldn’t have turned out well for them.

But let’s face it, it won’t turn out well for us either! If God is calling you, choosing you and asking you to do something, he’s not going to let you rest until you do it. Sure, he gives you a choice. But he’s not going to stop asking. He’s not going to stop urging. He’s not going to stop whispering in your ear. God, as it turns out, has a plan. It’s a grand plan with lots of details and millions of people who have to work together to execute this plant.

And God knows better than you or I what kind of person he needs in each role that he has created in order to fulfill his plan. And so, here we are – called by God – and we have a choice: Do we answer God’s call and step into the role he has assigned us or do we ignore his call and go our own way. It was a decision that Aaron’s family had to make and a decision that all of us still face today.