My Dear Shepherds,
I’m often struck by how ordinary church people are. That’s not a put-down. I admire the ingenuity of our disguises. Years ago, Stuart Briscoe asked a young woman what she did for a living. She replied, “I am a disciple of Jesus Christ very skillfully disguised as a machine operator.”
We are ordinary. In fact, by worldly standards we’re under-ordinary.
Brothers and sisters, 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. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not —to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. (1 Cor. 1:26-29)
It’s been God’s way from the beginning. “The LORD did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. But it was because the LORD loved you….”
In his wonderful wisdom, the Lord doesn’t leave us as he finds us.
It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. (v.30)
God’s wisdom transforms the likes of us by this triple cord of the gospel, three twined miracles that make the foolish wise, the weak strong, the lowly highborn, and the despised to be beloved sons and daughters of God. We learn that rebirth is not too strong a word nor new creation a hyperbole.
It’s in our nature to boast if we can find even one shred of status or accomplishment to wave. It’s like a mutant spiritual gene. But salvation is gene therapy, turning our boasting to praise.
Therefore, as it is written: “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.” (v.31)
That boasting that God promised through Jeremiah is that “they have the understanding to know me, that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight” (Jer. 9:23-24).
In Christ, we find new uses for our superlatives and speeches, for our songs and palm branches. Our old spotlights are too dim to show the glory of God in Christ so we worship him. We testify and spread the good news in every language we can learn. We raise our hands and bend our knees. We rehearse in full voice for the anthems we will sing together around the throne of God and the Lamb.
And there we are—pastors of these remarkable people, more extraordinary than the angels; so valued, so treasured by God, that when each one was found, when each one came home, the Father celebrated and all heaven with him. No one would guess it by looking out over their faces on a Sunday morning, but none of them are ordinary.
Pastors have a front row seat to witness God’s wisdom at work. We watch the deep-set stains of guilt wash away and see soul diseases healed. We hear the redeemed sing of their salvation and their love for the Lord. They tell us of their resolve to obey Jesus no matter the price. We watch their love for one another. We join them in prayer for their children or for lost friends. They share the treasures they’ve discovered in Scripture. No, they are not ordinary by any stretch of the imagination. They’re saints!
Be ye glad!