Tuesday, November 17, 2015
Here is one bible verse which is particularly comforting to me: “But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty.” (1 Corinthians 1:27) One day I’ll know for sure but, for many years now, I have suspected that God does indeed have a sense of humor. After all, He did choose me to be one of His servants. If you had told people who knew me before Christ changed my life, especially my ex co-workers, that one day I would be preaching and teaching the gospel, they would have laughed until their sides hurt due to the foolishness of the idea. However, one of them was not surprised, not even at the start. He told me that he had heard about a story in the Bible (Numbers 22:28) where God once made a donkey talk.
Some of you may remember the part in the first Toy Story movie when one of the little aliens inside the toy grab machine very happily says “I’ve been chosen!” when the “Claw” lifts him out. The poor thing didn’t know what he was in for. Neither do any of the folks who have been chosen of God know what they are in for. In their case, however, and unlike the poor little alien in the movie, in time they realize the privilege and honor they have been given. In almost every case, they don’t have the foggiest idea why God chose them, assured that He most certainly could have done better. Nevertheless, that’s the way it is with God. Just as our starting verse clearly shows, He delights in choosing those whom the world least suspected would ever be good candidates to do His work. The reason this eternal truth is vitally important is because many of God’s children see themselves as the world sees them. Believing they have nothing to offer, they remain on the sidelines perfectly happy if others do the work.
If you are in that category, permit me to remind you of the message in today’s verse. God delights in using the “nobodies” of the world to proclaim His message. One well known prayer of a “chosen” new servant of God, went this way: “Lord, let me be that “nobody” who will tell “everybody” about the “Somebody” who can save and transform “anybody.” If you consider yourself a “nobody”, what are you waiting for? Those are exactly the ones the Lord chooses as servants. And please don’t think that God wants you to go out to save the entire world, you can start by sharing Jesus and His love with the next person you come into contact with. It is an honor to be a child of God, but being a servant of God is even greater.
Memory verse for the week: (Isaiah 41:13) “For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.”
Note: Please forgive my tardiness again; I’ll try to ketchup.
