BBD 02.04.09 Greatness
Posted by: wrather <wrather@...>
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02.04.09
Greatness
For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the
flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the
foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the
weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and
the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has
chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that
are. - 1 Corinthians 1:25-28.
David McCullough wrote an article some time ago discussing presidential
power saying that it is the unseen characteristics of former presidents
which gave them their greatness. In Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's "The Little
Prince" there is a scene when the fox says that what's essential is
invisible. Here are some of the invisible characteristics McCullough
mentions: integrity, depth of soul, and courage. David points out that our
presidents have come in all shapes and sizes. Some have had great
educational experiences and some have not. In other words, what really made
these individuals great would not be found in words or a photo on a resume.
It appears to be the same with the great people of the Bible. People like
Gideon and David. They were the least of their families. But God knew their
hearts, their inner essence, which towered above others around them. They
had usable hearts. Some like David and Timothy were too young in the eyes of
the world but God used them anyway. Some had hearts like that of Isaiah
which said, "here I am Lord send me." Some had hearts like Gideon and Moses.
They thought they were unusable but once God touched their lives they were
unstoppable.
Many churches are searching for pastors, but they are looking with the eyes
of the world. If Jesus were to submit a resume to your church you would most
likely reject it. Why? Because He had no formal education and His only work
background prior to ministry was as a lowly carpenter. He also came from a
little obscure place called Nazareth. Even after He began His ministry, He
did not go to seminary, and He just wandered around from place to place with
His little cult of followers. Most churches today would not be all that
interested in having the apostle Paul as their pastor either. Of course,
Paul did have the benefit of having the finest education available at the
time. However, Paul was domineering, opinionated, intolerant, and he had an
unsavory past having persecuted Christians. He also had a prison record. Who
would want a person like that to be their pastor?
The point being that before we consider others unusable or unqualified we
need to consider what God thinks. In addition, before you consider yourself,
unusable or unqualified, you need to know what God thinks.
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