Oil of Gladness

He answered, "The man who is called Jesus made clay, and anointed my eyes, and said to me, 'Go to Siloam and wash'; so I went away and washed, and I received sight." (John 9:11)

I previously visited this concept of anointing that took place with this blind man. But I want to come back again and meditate on the whole concept of anointing and the real implications of what it means.

It is too easy to get trapped in the external hang-ups surrounding ordination, anointing etc. Traditions and assumptions can quickly take over the discussion while the spirit and truth can easily be pushed to the background. But I find that the issues of the heart are most important to focus on when it comes to the things of heaven if I want to better grasp what God has in mind for the various activities mentioned that are connected with the Christian life.

You love righteousness and hate wickedness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You With the oil of gladness more than Your companions. (Psalms 45:7 NKJV)

God's anointing apparently has more to do with revitalizing the heart than with some external form of commission or permission to do some work in the church. In fact as I understand it, the church or the body of Christ is supposed to act more along the lines of simply acknowledging and affirming what God is calling someone to do in their life rather than setting up narrow restrictions around them or playing politics with predetermined church offices. We need to get back to living in synchronization with the Spirit rather than ignoring heart issues in favor of external trappings and artificial designations.

I heard an excellent explanation of the relationship between Paul and the church of Antioch that really helped to make sense of this issue of ordination or anointing. Rather than being the initiator of setting Paul and Barnabas apart for the ministry to spread the gospel to the world, this church simply recognized the compulsion of God upon these men and were in reality setting themselves apart as sponsors and support family to launch these men out to do what God had laid upon their hearts. The church was not only dedicating these men to a particular service but were also committing themselves to honor, support, encourage and cheer them on in every way possible. That gives a whole different spin to the idea of church offices or assignments.

How revolutionary it would be if we took seriously this way of living together in the body of Christ. What if we discarded the tradition of filling slots called church offices or positions and instead rather sought to discern how God may be calling and gifting someone to live passionately for Him and then seek to support them in that calling. I have heard a few instances of where a group of people chose to do this and the results were electrifying and exciting. Some very unusual gifts and callings emerged as people chose to allow God to define individual's roles in His family rather than trying to squeeze them into predetermined molds.

If we were to view people's function in the church – or the body of Christ as I prefer to think of it – from the angle of discerning God's impressions and urging in their lives that were unique for them and their personality, I believe we would see far more joy and effectiveness in people's service for God rather than the infighting and general malaise that is seen among us today. Rather than grasping for positions of power and influence in the corporate structure of church now modeled after the world's way of operating, we might see the life of Jesus being revealed in the lives of people motivated and captivated by His love and presence in their lives. The body of Christ would then be transformed from a stagnant, complacent club into a powerful magnet drawing millions to want to know Christ better for themselves.

Of course, not everyone is going to respond positively to the energized testimony of a person thus anointed. This story of the blind man who was anointed with joy to witness to the religious elite reveals he was not able to break through their hardened hearts and bring the gladness of heaven into their lives. But his testimony is not over and the effect of his brief appearance in the gospel continues on with great effectiveness. The passion of his testimony for Jesus still carries the ring of the joy one might expect in a man transformed in such a dramatic way after so many years of darkness.

According to the original language, this man was appointed as an apostle for Jesus to carry the good news about God to whomever would listen. This is really what every calling and gifting of God is all about. The true body of Christ is made up of many members with wide varieties of talents and gifts. But all of them are for the purpose of drawing others closer to Jesus, for changing and improving our pictures of God and for the purpose of increasing our love for Him and our maturity level. Anything other than this is a cheap imitation and falls into the category of counterfeit, external, empty religion.

Most of us have little appreciation for the intensity of the joy this man must have felt upon receiving his sight having never experienced vision before. Undoubtedly his life was filled with joy and gladness and he was unashamed to share the wonderful truth about Jesus even in the face of intense hostility and even abandonment by family and friends. That is the nature of a true calling on a person's life when God really gets hold of the heart. We become unafraid of the structures of men for they are only imitations and artificial fabrications compared to the realities of heaven we experience in our heart.

I want that kind of energizing, emboldening encounter with Jesus. I want my spiritual eyes to be opened and to come to see things I have never seen before and be filled with joy I have never dreamed possible before. I want my life to be so consumed with passion for speaking the truth about God and vindicating His reputation that no one or no threat will be able to intimidate or sway me from speaking the joyful truth about God to everyone. Of course there will inevitably arise intense resistance and repercussions from such testimony. But that is the natural outcome of the polarizing effect of the gospel. The lies of the enemy about God will never surrender to the truth about Him and each person must choose what they will believe in the end. But which witnesses they choose to believe will in turn shape their own testimony and becomes the factor that determines their own final destiny.

Father, I long to have this kind of encounter with You. I am tired of living in so much darkness with light all around me. Send Your Holy Spirit to bring healing to my heart, to enlighten my eyes, to energize my heart and life to empower me to fulfill the calling and destiny You have intended for me in Your family here on earth. Do this for Your name's sake, to enhance Your reputation and to bring honor and glory to You.