Do you have a hero of the faith? Is it Paul? David? Abraham? Ruth? Esther? Or maybe it’s someone like Jim Elliot who was killed trying to share the gospel with the Auca Indians. Or it could be someone in your family like a mom, dad, or grandparent.
As you consider these heroes, do you ever say to yourself, “I could never be a Paul, David, Esther or Jim Elliot. I’m too quiet and reserved to lead or start anything. I just don’t have what it takes to do anything like they did.”
First of all, I’m not sure God wants you to be Paul, David, Esther, etc…. He created you to be you. Second, just because you may not preach to thousands or have your name in the headlines of Christian ministry doesn’t mean God is not changing the world through you. Consider the ranch hand who said, “I may not be Billy Graham, but I can serve God in a blue collar job.”
Finally, I want us to consider who our heroes of the faith actually are. Are they not mere men and women in whom God used to glorify Himself? When you look at the lives of David, Paul, Esther, etc…, they were folks who did not have it all together. They weren’t super heroes.
We must remember this because sometimes we think we are not talented enough for God to use. If you feel this way, then you need to consider 1 Corinthians 1:26-31.
For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”
In this passage, Paul reminds those in Corinth that God does not necessarily use the strong and wise, but the weak and foolish. Consider the cross. What kind of god uses such a vile method of execution to show his glory? It was unthinkable, and yet today, it is the cross in which we boast.
So if you think you “ain’t got what it takes,” then you are in great shape! Why? Because God is not looking for self-reliant glory hounds, but humble, weak, servants in whom his glory can shine.
When we look at the lives of David, Paul, and anyone else who follows Christ, God wants us to see his glory, not theirs. We must remember that God does not and will not share his glory (see Isaiah 48:11).
Consider the words by Kent Hughes:
Life is not as it appears to be. We are led by today’s culture to imagine that God pitches his tent with the especially famous and powerful – those who can speak of ecstasies and miraculous power and who command large crowds as they jet from city to city and enjoy the spotlight of center stage – but it is not so. Christ pitches his tent with the unknown, the suffering shut-in, the anonymous pastor and missionary, the godly, quiet servants in the home and in the marketplace.
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