The
article in The Washington Post on
September 16, 2009, began with these words: “The king folds her own laundry,
chauffeurs herself around Washington in a 1992 Honda, and answers her own
phone. Her boss's phone, too.” The article was about Peggielene Bartels,
secretary to the Ghanian embassy in Washington D.C. for 30 years. She's
originally from Otuam, Ghana, a small city of about 7,000, and her story is a
fascinating one.
When the
90-year-old king of Otuam, Ghana, died, the elders did what they always have
done: a ritual to determine the next king. They prayed and poured schnapps on
the ground while they read the names of the king's 25 relatives. When steam
rose from the schnapps on the ground, the name that they were reading at that
moment would be the new king—and that's exactly what happened when they read
Peggielene's name.
So now
Peggielene is a king—yes, a king, not a queen (when she pointed out to the
elders that she is a woman, they replied by saying the office of king is the
post that was open). When she goes back to Ghana, she has a driver and a chef
and an eight-bedroom palace (though it needs repairs). She has power to resolve
disputes, appoint elders, and manages more than 1,000 acres of family-owned
land. “I'm a big-time king, you know,” she told the reporter. When she returned
for her coronation, they carried her through the streets on a litter. She even
wore a heavy gold crown.[1]
Paul
Schwartzman, the reporter, wrote, "In the humdrum of ordinary life, people
periodically yearn for something unexpected, some kind of gilded escape,
delivered, perhaps, by an unanticipated inheritance or a winning lottery
ticket. Well, Peggielene got the unexpected.” The truth is, if you have come to
Christ then your whole identity has changed.
Look at
what Paul said about the ordinary believer in Christ, “For in Christ Jesus you
are all sons of God, through faith” (Gal. 3:26). For those in Christ, our
identity has been radically changed. Once we were the Devil’s children, living
in sin because that was our true spiritual heritage (1 John 3:10). By grace we
have been transferred into the family of God and given a brand-new identity.
John 1:12 says, “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he
gave the right to become children of God.”
Notice
there is a crucial limitation here as well. This change of identity is only for
those who have “faith in Christ Jesus.” Why is this important? Because often
you will hear people thoughtlessly say, “We’re all God’s children,” as if to
imply that everyone on earth is a child of God. But that is not true! There
isn’t a single verse in the Bible that teaches such a thing. A more biblical
way to say it would be that we’re all God’s creation, but only those who trust
in Christ are truly God’s children. Without faith in Jesus there is no entrance
into God’s family.
[1] Paul Schwartzman, “Peggielene
Bartels: Secretary by Day, Royalty by Night," The Washington Post, 16 September 2009
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/15/AR2009091503393.html>
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