CALLING OF THE ORDINARIES
Perhaps, I could be one of the few from the congregation facing challenges going into the new year. New Year is always a paradox for me. The same burden & the same uncertainties that surrounds where one has least option to celebrate or to greet for... So my curiousity reaches a point where i ask myself, what an ordinary me can do and make a difference while many gaints are out there leaving no space to even cast my flickering shadow. Most of the time, we would hear of heroes of the faith as mentioned in the bible and come away feeling admiration for the characters we read about but feel widely detached from them as if they have never existed or they're from the other world. Legends like the unassuming David who took out Goliath, and the
uncompromising Daniel tossed to the lions. These were not mortal men. They seemed more fictional than anything. Men like Elijah at Mt. Carmel, and Moses at the Red Sea. There was Noah and the Ark, Ezekiel and those bones, Jonah and that whale. With each telling of the story, the distance between them and myself grew. We studied Joseph's colorful coat, Solomon's wise counsel, Joshua's dismantling crew. We heard about them all. Paul's intellect, Peter's charisma, Stephen's boldness. All of whom were giants of the faith. All of whom were extraordinary. But none of whom I identified with. The Bible characters I identified with were not in "Who's Who", but "Who's That?" Some of my readers here might disagree with me while saying the above characters are sometimes larger than life. I understand how God uses people of different statures at a given time & space to fulfilled his plan...times are there when I tell Him, God... I can't beleive it nor you can't expect me to be like some Daniel or David....You see, my gift is my comparative ordinariness to the others. Average Joes like me finally have to run from pillar to post to ensure if there's any body left who's less ordinary so that my bill fits well... To my amazement there are some beautiful ordinary people whom God uses and their works were as significant as the rest of the prophets. Preachers around us & hollywood stars alike hardly preached or have acted on these roles.... must be they're just too ordinary for the sunday sermons or too insignificant for entertainment banners like warner bros or 20th century fox. It is trully rewarding to know that God does powerfully use such ordinary Joes like many of us for his great Kingdom building.
Folks like,
• Shiphrah and Puah - two midwives who dared to defy Pharaoh because they answered to a higher power ( Exodus 1: 15)
• Bezaleel - a simple architect to whom God gave the job of a lifetime (Exodus 37:1)
• Ehud - used by God because he was left-handed ( Judges )
• Shamgar (God's unknown heroes) - mentioned in only one verse, yet he still had time to kill 600 Philistines and save Israel (Judges 3:12-31)
• Asa - a son of godless parents who became a Godly king (1King 15)
I am learning to see how beautiful it is to be still orginally ordinary and to be believing in an extraordinary God. Friends, at this crazy time of uncertainties, it is very reassuring to know that it is that same great God who specializes in using the insignificant ones, using them and changing their own and others lives. Instead of been getting hammered to be like Daniel in the midst of the lions, Moses leading the thousands etc, it is the same good Lord who uses a baby's tear to move the heart of Pharaoh's daughter; a shepherd's stick to do might miracles in Egypt; a sling and a stone to conquer a nation; a little girl to lead Naaman to Elisha; a widow and some
corn meal to sustain a prophet; a child to teach humility to the disciples; a donkey to preach truth; a boy's sack lunch to fed a multitude. Many a times, pretension has been my second home. I took shelter and solace whenever I feel threatened... friends, perhaps this could be the same case with many of u too. Since the time I was leading the high school contingent, I never want to be an ordinary student who sits behind. I always desire to be noticed for my studies, my
talent etc... Interestingly similar notion often creeps into our believes and are easily reflected in our relationship with God. Similar are the ways we be-littled ourselves as compared to the rest of the people. Questions like “who am I? I’m pretty ordinary. How could God use anyone like me?” Have anyone of us ever felt that way? Let’s face it, coz most of us are ordinary people... We often feel like we really don't have a whole lot to contribute. It is infact interesting to be reminded not to look so much at what we can do for the Lord but at what God can do through us. I believe it is most important to become more aware of God's involvement in our daily ordinary lives. Abraham Lincoln once said, "God must love the common man, he made so many of them." It was a gusty risk Jesus took leaving all that ministry in the hands of a dozen ordinary men. What if they failed? Or, forgot? Or, gave up? What would be the condition of his ministry and the Father's plan? The twelve had done little to distinguish themselves. Were they ready? Today, it's a gutsy move to leave in our hands, too. What if we fail, or forget or quit? All these risky hands on practices of God makes me trully believes that he really thus specializes in using the ordinaries like you and me because since the beginning he keeps drawing straight lines with ordinary crooked sticks. This is my prayer that the good Lord takes pleasure in using the ordinary 'us' throughout this season for His Kingdom building. Happy reading!!!
• Asa - a son of godless parents who became a Godly king (1King 15)
I am learning to see how beautiful it is to be still orginally ordinary and to be believing in an extraordinary God. Friends, at this crazy time of uncertainties, it is very reassuring to know that it is that same great God who specializes in using the insignificant ones, using them and changing their own and others lives. Instead of been getting hammered to be like Daniel in the midst of the lions, Moses leading the thousands etc, it is the same good Lord who uses a baby's tear to move the heart of Pharaoh's daughter; a shepherd's stick to do might miracles in Egypt; a sling and a stone to conquer a nation; a little girl to lead Naaman to Elisha; a widow and some
corn meal to sustain a prophet; a child to teach humility to the disciples; a donkey to preach truth; a boy's sack lunch to fed a multitude. Many a times, pretension has been my second home. I took shelter and solace whenever I feel threatened... friends, perhaps this could be the same case with many of u too. Since the time I was leading the high school contingent, I never want to be an ordinary student who sits behind. I always desire to be noticed for my studies, my
talent etc... Interestingly similar notion often creeps into our believes and are easily reflected in our relationship with God. Similar are the ways we be-littled ourselves as compared to the rest of the people. Questions like “who am I? I’m pretty ordinary. How could God use anyone like me?” Have anyone of us ever felt that way? Let’s face it, coz most of us are ordinary people... We often feel like we really don't have a whole lot to contribute. It is infact interesting to be reminded not to look so much at what we can do for the Lord but at what God can do through us. I believe it is most important to become more aware of God's involvement in our daily ordinary lives. Abraham Lincoln once said, "God must love the common man, he made so many of them." It was a gusty risk Jesus took leaving all that ministry in the hands of a dozen ordinary men. What if they failed? Or, forgot? Or, gave up? What would be the condition of his ministry and the Father's plan? The twelve had done little to distinguish themselves. Were they ready? Today, it's a gutsy move to leave in our hands, too. What if we fail, or forget or quit? All these risky hands on practices of God makes me trully believes that he really thus specializes in using the ordinaries like you and me because since the beginning he keeps drawing straight lines with ordinary crooked sticks. This is my prayer that the good Lord takes pleasure in using the ordinary 'us' throughout this season for His Kingdom building. Happy reading!!!
