Who Does God Choose?

but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, 28 and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, (I Corinthians 1:27-28)

            What qualifies us for Christian service?  What made the twelve disciples that Jesus chose worthy of their calling?   Was it that they realized that in their own wisdom and strength there was no way they could do it?  The Jewish leaders of that day were tied to religious form and self-righteousness.  The Greeks loved human wisdom and all of its trappings, but God looked to common ordinary fishermen.  Why?  God was planning on nullifying the things that are.  So he chose the base, the weak, and the foolish, the things that aren’t, to change the things that are.  It was common for the Jews to speak of Gentiles as “things that are not”.  The Greeks said that “are we to follow one who cannot save himself”? This was weakness and foolishness to them.   So God set in motion an avenue to salvation that would humble human pride and cease all boasting.  He did by instituting a path to Himself based on grace, unmerited favor, and a course that could not be navigated by self-righteousness or sheer intellect.  Therefore, He looked for a group of men who were not steeped in tradition or in love with their minds.  Education does not eliminate people from Christian service, but neither, by itself, does it qualify them either.  God’s intention was that all flesh glory in the Lord (v. 31).  He lovingly draws us to Himself in a manner where, as Matthew Henry once wrote, “people are humbled and God is glorified”.

Pray with me.  Lord, help me to understand that no matter what my state in life or my human condition; I cannot do it my self.  Grant me the grace, unmerited favor, to serve You.

Ken Barnes the author of “The Chicken Farm and Other Sacred Places”  YWAM Publishing
Email:  kenbarnes737@gmail.com
website: https://sites.google.com/site/kenbarnesbooksite/

Blog: http://kensblog757.blogspot.com