When you are a Christian, and you see all the
evil in the world, it's easy to get discouraged. You may say to yourself,
"I'm not that smart, I'm not an eloquent speaker, I'm just an average
person. How will anything I do make a difference?" Consider
this and take heart: the Bible is full of average and imperfect individuals
that accomplished great things, not because they were exceptional people, but
because of the power of God in their lives.
When God appeared to Moses in the burning
bush (Exodus 3 & 4), he told Moses: "I am
sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt."
What did Moses do? He started making excuses. "Who am I, that
I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt? What if
they do not believe me? I am slow of speech and tongue. Please send
someone else to do it." Moses felt like he was completely
unqualified to do what God asked of him. What did God do? He sent
Moses (and his brother Aaron) anyway, telling him "I will help both of you
speak and will teach you what to do." Moses went from being a
completely average sheepherder to a man described as follows in Deuteronomy
34:10-11: "No prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew
face to face, who did all those miraculous signs and wonders the LORD sent him
to do in Egypt - to Pharaoh and to all his officials and to his whole land."
How did this transformation come about? Not because of anything special
about Moses, but because of the power God displayed in his life.
Peter was a man whose faith was sometimes
weak (Matthew 14:22-31), who often lacked understanding (Matthew 15:15-16), and
was foolish enough to think he understood God's plan better than Jesus (Matthew
16:21-23). Worst of all, he denied the Lord three times (Matthew
26:69-75). If this was all you knew of Peter's life, you would have to
wonder why Jesus picked him to be one of the twelve apostles. What could
a man like this accomplish? As it turns out, a great deal. After
seeing the risen Lord and being anointed with the Holy Spirit (Acts 2), Peter
preached the gospel boldly to all who would listen. He was even bold
enough to say this about Jesus before the Sanhedrin (Acts
4:10-12): "It is by the name of Jesus
Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that
this man stands before you healed. He is 'the stone you builders
rejected, which has become the capstone.' Salvation is found in no one
else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be
saved." The Sanhedrin had condemned Jesus to death, so Peter knew he
was risking his life when he said these things. What gave him the courage
to act so boldly? Again, it was not anything inherently great about
Peter, but rather the power of God in his life.
Paul wrote this to the church in Corinth (1
Corinthians 1:26-27): "Brothers, think of what
you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards;
not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose
the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of
the world to shame the strong." This statement was also true for the
apostles and many of the first century Christians. So it's not about
being rich or smart or eloquent, it's about God's choice to save those who
believe in the one he sent, Jesus Christ, who is the power of God and the
wisdom of God. It is through him and only him that we can accomplish
anything, great or small.
The message of the gospel is not
complicated or confusing. In 1 Corinthians 2:1-2, Paul writes: "When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence
or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I
resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him
crucified." The heart of the gospel is the death, burial, and
resurrection of Jesus Christ. This simple message, combined with the
power of God which comes through faith in Jesus, will enable any Christian to
spread the good news. Remember, no matter what limits there are to your
abilities, God's power has no limits. As Isaiah notes in Isaiah 59:1,
"Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull
to hear."
