Ordinary People

Sometimes I feel so ill-equipped. There are so many pastors and preachers I look to as mentors: Pastor Jason, Dr. Paul Tripp, Dr. Kevin Carson, and Jim Elliot. If I let myself fall into the trap of comparing myself to these men I feel very inadequate. I mean, just look at them! Who am I compared to these great men?

Do you ever feel this way? Do you feel as if pastors, missionaries, and others who serve the Lord

-are better than you?

-are more equipped than you?

-possess greater gifts than you?

When we allow ourselves to skate on this thin ice, we need to remember that these people we hold in such high esteem are really just ordinary people.

People who mess up.

People who have fears and anxieties.

People who are broken and sinners.

People who doubt themselves when God asks them to do something.

The Bible is full of ordinary people. Look at how Moses responds to what God asks him to do:

“...Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” Exodus 3:11

“... I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.” Exodus 4:10

Sure, Moses may not have been eloquent with his speech (in some translations he was described to have a stammer), but his way of thinking in that verse is just plain wrong. Moses was completely disregarding the fact that he was being asked to do something by the Ultimate Creator, the One who holds all power in His hands.

It’s easy to think that the people in the Bible were different from us - that they didn’t have the same weaknesses and problems that we have. That is another falsehood. Look at this next verse:

“When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, also the books, and above all the parchments.” 2 Timothy 4:13

Did you catch that? While this may be a little more light-hearted, do you see what I’m getting at? This verse is about Paul and is showing his human side - his forgetful side. He was asking Timothy to bring him his coat and the books that he needed. Is it possible that Paul just forgot them? Could Paul, someone we all hold in great esteem, have been forgetful - even when doing the Lord’s work? You bet he could! The verse doesn’t specifically say so, but it is definitely a very real possibility.

Here is what I’m getting at: Paul, Moses, my mentors, the people you look up to in ministry - these are all ordinary people who God gives strength and courage to so that they can do His work and tell others about His love for them. Friends, if we choose to continually look at our inabilities, focus on all of our weaknesses, and tell ourselves that we are not qualified, we will miss opportunities to share God’s love with others. We will miss opportunities to share His love with the teens that we serve.

God just doesn’t want to use anybody to serve where he has called you- He wants to use YOU. Friend, He wants to use your imperfections and your vulnerabilities to make yourself (and others) more like Him. That’s a story that I want to be a part of!

Don’t we serve a simply amazing God?

I will leave you with a quote from a flawed, imperfect, ordinary man who is someone I look to for Biblical wisdom and teaching:

“Embedded in the larger story of redemption is a principle we must not miss: God uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things in the lives of others.” -Paul Tripp