All the king’s horses and all the king’s men couldn’t put Humpty together again? Not really. This piece is not about a fantasy adventure created in the bowels of an opium-dependent mind. And just to qualify – “men” also means “women”.
So the thing is, I was reading the Book of Esther and about all the central characters whom we know: Queen Esther, King Xerxes, Mordecai, Haman, the bad guy, and Vashti, the outcast, formerly known as the Queen of Persia.
However, it was actually a few nameless characters that made me go, “This is quite interesting.”
Nameless, because they were just doing their jobs; nameless, because they were not courtiers or aristocrats; nameless, because they were not Jews with real faith; nameless, because they were just too insignificant.
The nameless folks are the couriers and messengers that took the word of this earthly king to the various parts of his immense domain. The context in Esther 8 is that the tables had turned in favour of the Jews. King Xerxes had proclaimed from his glittering throne that the Jews could do anything they wanted with their enemies. Anything meant “kill, destroy and loot”.
But boy, was I really impressed by the response of the messengers!
“The couriers, riding the royal horses, went out, spurred on by the king’s command, and the edict was issued in the citadel of Susa.”
Observe that not a moment was wasted, and not a moment was spent staring at the message deciphering its semantic and hermeneutic connotations, wondering what was the exact root word in the various 127 languages of the kingdom.
No, not at all. Not one bit.
They just took the word at face value and left in haste. “Spurred” by the fact that what mattered was the who, i.e. the king, and not necessarily the what.
Now, I am not going to digress and leave you wondering about the educational accomplishments of these messengers. A task was given and they went out to accomplish it. Simple, no?
And then I compared my reaction to Our King’s Mighty Command mentioned in Matthew 28:19–20: “Go and make disciples of ALL nations.”
Have I made haste? Have I spurred myself to action? Have I wasted no time? Do I have a sense of urgency? Do I remind myself daily that this is just one life, one chance, one moment because He has said it and I have no excuse?
Have I forgotten the who, the One who is King of Kings, the One who can quiet the storms, the One who can heal, the One who created the stars with a command, the One who makes evil spirits scream their lungs out in pain, the One who is worshipped by the legions in heaven?
Have I forgotten the what? Have I forgotten that this message is what I need to give, regardless of the season I am in, regardless of my wealth and status, regardless of my moods and feelings, regardless of the person receiving it?
Have I also forgotten the where from which this message comes? That it comes from a Heavenly “Citadel of Susa”, where His authority lies. He has proclaimed it and so we need not fear.
Am I suggesting that we should not study the Bible? Of course not! There is still so much to be revealed and discovered. Am I suggesting that we should just go lock, stock and barrel to everybody and leave wisdom behind? No!
I am just drawing attention to the condition of my heart when it comes to the Great Commission. Our King says that the harvest is ripe and ready. Our King tells us to be ready with Gospel shoes.
And yes, in all honesty, we are the King’s men and women, called to be swift like horses, called to ride to worlds beyond and spread a fire that will ravish the hearts of those who would hear and pay attention to His message.
Written by Abe
Abe serves as an elder at Fusion Delhi. He grew up in Nagaland and Assam, and currently lives in Delhi with his wife and their two beautiful girls. Abe works at an MNC in Gurgaon and has been dabbling in writing for almost two decades now.