Princesses and Priests

The first words of George MacDonald that I ever read were from The Princess and The Goblin. It begins thus . . .

Chapter One--Why The Princess Has A Story About Her

There was once a little princess who --

"But, Mr. Author, why do you always write about princesses.

"Because every little girl is a princess."

"You will make them vain if you tell them that."

"Not if they understand what I mean."

"Then what do you mean?"

"What do you mean by a princess?"'

"The daughter of a king."

"Very well, then every little girl is a princess, and there would be no need to say anything about it, except that she is always in danger of forgetting her rank, and behaving as if she had grown out of the mud. I have seen little princesses behave like the children of thieves and lying beggars, and that is why they need to be told they are princesses. And that is why, when I tell a story of this kind, I like to tell it about a princess. Then I can say better what I mean, because I can then give her every beautiful thing I want her to have."

"Please go on."

There was once a little princess whose father was king over a great country full of mountains and valleys. . . .

This fascinating glimpse into MacDonald hooked me and called to my mind the words of Pastor Steve Schlissel:

". . . We need to get back to that place where we can speak to the covenant people of God and address them as the righteous of the Lord. They have a place in this world where they are to shine like stars in the night, as they hold forth the word of light. The gathered worshipers on a Sunday, the Lord’s Day, are to be built up in what God has made them and called them to be; they are not to be berated, belittled, stained, doubted, and accused.

If we don’t agree that we have to go back to our congregations and build them up, then we might as well cash it in now and forget reformation. If we cannot speak to the people of God like God speaks to the people of God, if we cannot speak to the people of God like Paul spoke to the people of God, then we have no right to be ministers of God. If we cannot speak to the congregation of the Lord Jesus Christ as those in whom He lives and dwells and has being in this world as a living testimony, then woe be to us. If all we can do is berate, belittle, and harangue, then we are working at cross purposes with the living God and woe be to us." (from the address "Covenant Thinking" delivered at the 2002 Auburn Avenue Pastor's Conference, p. 15)

Perhaps Peter sums it up best . . .

"But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy." 1 Peter 2:9-10