Pastor's Note - January 13 
Several of my brothers and I keep a group text chat going, and most of it is filled with jokes and things we find humorous. Today one of my brothers sent out a link to a funny news story, about a couple of LAPD police officers who were fired for ignoring a call regarding a robbery in progress. Why did they ignore the call? Because they were playing Pokemon Go on their phones and had found a Snorlax (a rare creature to collect in the game). Hilarious stuff. Depending on who you ask, maybe they were justified… after all, it was a Snorlax! Of course I’m kidding. They should have responded to the call, because of the urgency of the situation and the authority of their superiors. And that got me thinking – what obligates us to respond to a call or command? My children make demands of me all the time. Often for candy. But I am not obligated to respond to many of their demands, because I am their father. However, they are obligated to respond to my commands and directives, because I am their father. The weight of the command is tied to the authority of the one giving it. If my child makes a demand, I’ll consider what they say, but not feel any obligation. If the elders of the church collectively give me a command, I have an obligation to follow. The more authoritative, the more powerful, the more glorious the one or group giving the command, the more weight the command carries. So consider our obligation when the Lord calls us to follow Him, and to go out into the world. The situation is far more urgent than a robbery. Eternal life hangs in the balance. And beyond that, consider the one giving the command! The more glorious the commander, the more weighty the command. Jesus gives the commission to be witnesses in all the world. Then, He ascends to heaven where He is enthroned over all creation. The weightiness of the commission is immeasurably magnified, because the one giving it is the King of the cosmos. Our commission is not optional, because the one giving it has all power and authority and majesty. The obligation of a call is tied to the awesomeness of the caller. We have an awesome call and caller.