Whenever I interview baptism candidates (which is usually children), I always ask them this question: What is the difference between getting baptized and getting wet? Does every time you go swimming mean you are getting baptized? Usually the child looks at me kind of funny at first and then says something like “I swim to have fun, I get baptized because I’m at church.”
I eventually tell them that getting baptized is a symbol on the outside of what you have already done on the inside. Whenever the Bible talks about anointing it is usually the same thing—it is not the “anointing” that does it, rather it is the condition of the heart that is being anointed that gives credence to the “anointing.”
King David was anointed because he was a man after God’s heart. Jesus was anointed because he was God’s heart! Being anointed usually meant that the Holy Spirit was “resting” upon you, kind of like a special mark or stamp of approval. Having the Holy Spirit rest upon you gave one power that can only come from God.
Jesus was anointed with the power of the Holy Spirit to bring about a complete renewal of heart and focus for God’s people—Israel. Jesus was empowered through this anointing not through a place of honor and power (like a king or president), rather Jesus displayed his anointing though serving others. Jesus was living a characteristic of the kingdom of God by doing the opposite of what the world tells us to do to get ahead.
I tell children and youth this concept often: the way to live the kingdom of God “on earth as it is in heaven” is to do the opposite of what your natural, human reaction would be. Almost always, the opposite response is the supernatural, God-intended, anointed reaction… isn’t it?
Can you imagine a world where people lived in a supernatural, anointed way like Jesus? Well, it would almost look like heaven!
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