As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. (1 Pet 4:10)
"Peter had a temper, David had an affair, Noah got drunk, Jonah ran from God, Paul committed murder, Gideon was insecure, Miriam gossiped, Martha worried, Thomas doubted, Sara was impatient, Elijah was moody, Moses stuttered, Zacchaeus was short, Abraham was old, and Lazarus was dead...God doesn't call the qualified, He qualifies those He calls! Just know while you are NOT perfect, God is working in your life anyway!" This was the status line posted by one of my friends this morning. I know where I fit into this (in more than one place) - do you know where you fit in???
I was asked by someone yesterday if I was "ordained". The answer to that, of course, is "no" - not in the sense that we understand the meaning of the word. To answer yes would have been confusing to the individual asking the question, yet the answer is yes - I have been ordained by God to spread His word. Just as those who carried the word to others in the early days following Jesus' death, resurrection and ascension, we are tasked with the same work - to bring Christ's love and message to others. We do that through our actions and through our words. We don't always get it right, but we are always forgiven when we get it wrong.
Being "human" we suffer from some pretty deplorable jealousies. The thought often crosses my mind "why can't I be the next "Beth Moore" or why can't my writing be printed in "The Upper Room"? My work is here, on the internet. I may not have thousands of readers, but I have a few - that's all the Lord needs for me to have. He's not asking me (or you for that matter) to go out and change the world - just to share His message with those whose paths we cross each day.
Knowing that His message has touched one life is more than enough to satisfy me. It means that one more person has come to know how the God who created them came to earth to save them. The numbers are unimportant - it's the message that matters! Share His word, share His love - reach out to the person who sits next to you at work, the person on the bus, the person in the check out line. Just ask them if they know God - or better yet, tell them "God bless you" - you'll be spreading His word, sharing His love with someone. And who knows, your words just may be the ones that person needed to hear...you're qualified to do that - God has qualified you!!!
