Monday, July 25, 2011
Do not let your heart envy sinners, but live in the fear of the
Lord always!” (Proverbs 23:17)
Okay, I admit it. I know I am not supposed to ‘envy’ people
who have wonderful talents and can do all those things that I would like to be
able to do, but I do! I would dearly love to be able to paint a beautiful
picture or play an instrument, or be a great orator but God choose not to give
me those talents.
But as I have grown more mature (a nice way of saying I am getting
as old as dirt) Paul’s message that we each have very special talents has
impacted my thinking. However, it is how committed we are to using those talents
for the building of the Kingdom of God that determines the crowns that will be
ours on judgment day!
Have you ever noticed that when God looks for something for His
service, He usually looks for something common! Something that we all would
understand! He prefers to hone His own edge out of rough metal. An
old country preacher put it this way, “When He really needs something done, He
looks for a broken vessel and smashes it, and then remolds it into the image of
His Son!”
I believe most scholars would agree that Paul was a rough sort of
dude. He was as anti ‘The Way’ as one could get; a Pharisee, a persecutor
of God’s people. But, one day on the Damascus Road, God looked down and said,
“I’ll take that one!”, and molded him into His image!.
When God chose the person who would introduce Jesus to the world,
he chose a wild sort of prophet, the eater of locust and wild honey. Yet
Jesus said, “Among those born of women there is no one greater than
John”. (Matthew 11:11)
Sooooo, if God can use a murderer (Moses) who had just spent forty
years being honed into a sharp edge to lead his people from the bondage of
Egypt, why not you or me? Will you be that person who, when God asks, “Who can
I send?” respond, “Here, send me!”
Blessings,
Gramps
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