By Chris WittsSunday 15 Jan 2023Morning Devotions with Chris WittsFaithReading Time: 1 minute
Subscribe to Morning Devotions podcast
Transcript:
Sometimes we get the idea that to be an effective Christian we have to be especially gifted or trained or be a priest or clergyman. But I want today to say that God uses ordinary people like you and me to make a contribution to our society and to God’s work. He can choose to work however He wishes, and He usually does that best through people. You don’t need a degree in theology to work for Jesus Christ, because He uses ordinary people.
There’s a gospel song called “Ordinary People” that goes like this:
Just ordinary people,
God uses ordinary people.
He chooses people just like me and you,
who are willing to do as He commands.
God uses people that will give Him all,
no matter how small your all may seem to you;
because little becomes much
as you place it in the Master’s hand.
Oh,just like that little lad,
who gave Jesus all he had;
How the multitude was fed
with a fish and loaves of bread.
What you have may not seem much,
but when you yield it to the touch
of the Master’s loving hand,
then you will understand how
your life could never be the same.
A certain Nun must have heard the story of the little boy who bought his lunch to Jesus one day, and Jesus blessed it to feed a multitude of hungry people. She came to her superiors with three pennies and a dream from God to build an orphanage in Calcutta. They tried to discourage her, saying that she could not build an orphanage–or anything else for that matter–with three pennies. But Theresa told them that with God and three pennies she could do anything. The rest is history as the world recognizes with great pride and thankfulness the work and love of Mother Teresa of Calcutta whose compassion is now part of history. Of course, we can’t all be Mother Teresa – we’re just ordinary people. But there are lots of ordinary people who do extraordinary things.
Another Nobel Peace Prize winner – Archbishop Desmond Tutu has said “in my theology, there are no ordinary people. Some people are V.I.P’s, but every one of us is a V.S.P.: a very special person, because we are all made in the image of God.”
I recall reading of a churchgoer who worked as a carpenter who one day was building some crates for the clothes his church was sending to some orphanage in China. On his way home,he reached into his shirt pocket to find his glasses, but they were gone. When he mentally replayed his earlier actions, he realized what happened; the glasses had slipped out of his pocket unnoticed and fallen into one of the crates, which he had nailed shut. His brand-new glasses were heading for China! This was during the years of the Great Depression, and he had to support six children. He had spent $20 for those glasses that very morning. He was upset by the thought of having to buy another pair. “It’s not fair” he told God as he drove home in frustration. “I’ve been very faithful in giving of my time and money to your work, and now this.” Several Months later, the director of the orphanage was on holidays in the United States. He wanted to visit all the churches that supported him in China, so he came to speak one Sunday at this man’s small church in Chicago. The missionary began by thanking the people for their faithfulness in supporting the orphanage. “But most of all,” he said, “I must thank you for the glasses you sent last year. You see, the Communists had just swept through the orphanage, destroying everything, including my glasses. I was desperate. Even if I had the money, there was simply no way of replacing those glasses. Along with not being able to see well, I experienced headaches every day, so my coworkers and I were much in prayer about this. Then your crates arrived. When my staff removed the covers, they found a pair of glasses lying on top.”
The missionary paused long enough to let his words sink in. Then, still gripped with the wonder of it all, he continued: “Folks, when I tried on the glasses, it was as though they had been custom-made just for me! I want to thank you for being a part of that.” The people listened, happy for the miraculous glasses. But the missionary surely must have confused their church with another, they thought. There were no glasses on their list of items to be sent overseas. But sitting quietly in the back, with tears streaming down his face, an ordinary carpenter realized the Master Carpenter had used him in an extra ordinary way.
When we are responsible in what God gives us to do, we discover something worth giving our lives for. We gain life worth living, and we gain rewards for having done the work the best we could. Our God rewards us by using our ordinary ways and lives in extraordinary ways.
God’s word says in Ephesians 3:20-21 “God who by His mighty power at work within us is able to do far more than we would ever dare to ask or even dream of – infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, or hopes. May he be given glory forever and ever through endless ages because of his master plan of salvation for the church through Jesus Christ”.