Following a totally unplanned sequence of events, I found myself in one of the tallest hotels in the world, with 82 floors. I was assigned a room closer to the ground floor than the top floor. I could only imagine what the view would be from the top floor. To get to my room, I only had a short ride on the elevator, compared to someone on the 82nd floor. What if I had the liberty to press any button on the elevator and choose any room that I liked on any floor?
Now, let’s assume for a moment that the higher the floor you’re on, the greater the privileges and power that come with the room, and that the hotel manager has the freedom of choosing to be in any room on any floor at no extra cost. However, for some reason, he chooses to remain on the ground floor and never gets to use the elevator in the hotel. He voluntarily forfeits the privileges and power that come with the rooms on the higher floors.
That’s kind of our story as God’s children. By the position that we have in Jesus, all authority has been given to us according to Ephesians 2:6 (God raised us from death to life with Christ Jesus, and he has given us a place beside Christ in heaven). However, when we get into the elevator, we restrict ourselves to the lower floors and instead choose to watch a few people access the higher floors and operate from those heights on our behalf.
Since we are his children, we will possess the blessings he keeps for his people, and we will also possess with Christ what God has kept for him; for if we share Christ’s suffering, we will also share his glory. Romans 8:17 [GNT]
As Christians, we all have the same free access to choose which button to press when we get into the elevator. How high we can access in the building is completely up to us and depends on the price we are willing to pay to understand and appropriate the rights and privileges that come with being on the higher levels. It is related to the level of commitment that we are willing to put in.
For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 1:8 [NIV]
We need to take personal responsibility for progressively adding these virtues to our lives and move from milk level to solid food and bones. The output will be evident and undeniable. We will know God and do exploits for and on behalf of the King.
You have been believers so long now that you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things about God’s word. You are like babies who need milk and cannot eat solid food. For someone who lives on milk is still an infant and doesn’t know how to do what is right. Solid food is for those who are mature, who through training have the skill to recognize the difference between right and wrong. Hebrews 5:12 – 14 [NLT]
Our Father does not want us to remain on the ground floor and we should not want to remain there either. Let’s arise and press in a little more today and a little more tomorrow. We will gradually get to the place where God has ordained for us to get to – As high as the elevator can go.
Chidi Ukandu's Blog 