Are you too small?

Very often common people (such as myself) think of themselves as being "too much, too little, too late" to be used by God to accomplish much.  They look at who they are and lament that they will never amount to much in God's kingdom work.  Such thinking is a grave mistake.

If you look at the men Jesus chose to become the very foundation of the church you will notice that none of them were exceptional people.  On the contrary, they were as common, as ordinary, as anyone could possibly be.

I am currently reading John MacArthur's book Twelve Ordinary Men which is a study of the lives of the men Jesus called to be His "inner circle" who would spend a relatively short, but intensive time (about 18 months) hearing Jesus teach and observing His actions.  MacArthur says of the twelve:
     "they were perfectly ordinary men in every way.  Not one of them was renowned for scholarship or great erudition.  They had no track record as orators or theologians.  In fact, they were outsiders as far as the religious establishment of Jesus' day was concerned.  They were not outstanding because of any natural talents or intellectual abilities.  On the contrary, they were all too prone to mistakes, misstatements, wrong attitudes, lapses of faith, and bitter failure -- no one more so than the leader of the group, Peter.  Even Jesus remarked that they were slow learners and somewhat spiritually dense (Luke 24:25)."

Sound like anyone you know?  I have to admit that MacArthur could have easily been describing me.  He goes on to say of the Apostles:  "Yet with all their faults and character flaws -- as remarkably ordinary as they were -- these men carried on a ministry after Jesus' ascension that left an indelible impact on the world."

Why would God choose to use such unlikely characters to entrust the very future of His redemptive ministry among mankind?  It's really simple.  If He had called upon great men to do this work they may have tried to depend upon their own intellect and skill (just like the Pharisees and other religious leaders tried to do) and God would not have received the glory and praise He deserves.  Doing what He did through the kind of people He chose assured that His work  was done in his power and not man's!

How does that reality affect how you think of yourself?  Does it give you hope that God can do something significant through you?  As the old saying goes, "He isn't looking for your ability, just your availablity."  God can do whatever He wants without our help, but He has chosen to give us the wonderful privilege of serving Him and being used as instruments for His glory.  So don't think you are too small to do anything great for God's kingdom.  Realize that acknowledging your lack of power is the beginning of being filled with His power to do "God-sized" tasks!