Thursday, December 19, 2013

Day 12: Luke 2:12

This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” -Luke 2:12

God has a funny way of using the least expected thing to serves His purposes.  All throughout the Old and New Testament, God uses people who are less qualified, less intelligent, weaker, and less skilled to do the work of His Kingdom.  Sometimes the people He used were sinners:  murderers, adulterers, liars, and cheaters.  Some people seemed too old, some seemed too young, some suffered with depression, and others were show offs.  The history of God's people is not a list of highly gifted saints.  The history of God's people is a ragtag, motley crew of prostitutes, shepherds, tax collectors, and warriors, who looked more like Duck Dynasty than the Elizabethan Dynasty.

There are two likely reasons for this.  The first is God is the one who should get the glory for everything.  He doesn't want there to be any question in anyone's mind about who it was that did the amazing work.  If God picked someone incredibly talented and educated, there might be some question as to who the glory should go to.  If He picks the least qualified and it is obvious that the person would not at all be capable of doing this thing on their own, then God is the one who should be praised.

Second, God wants to remind us that His ways are not our ways and what He sees as glorious is not always the same as what we see as glorious.  Where we would look down on a prostitute, Rahab is listed among God's most faithful people.  Where we may discount Abraham for trying to achieve God's promise on his own by trying to conceive a baby with his servant Hagar instead of waiting to conceive with his wife Sarah, God still blessed him as a father of many nations.  What God sees is our hearts and it is by our hearts that we are judged.  He is more capable of using someone who has a passionate heart for him than using someone who is indifferent but has a resume that can't be passed up.

Because of this, it is no surprise that the Savior of all would start off life in a feeding trough wrapped in scraps of cloth.  It is only by the power of Almighty God that a baby born in these circumstances could be the King of Kings.  In fact, His weakness, being born into such poverty, became one of Jesus' greatest attributes...He could connect with the poor and wealthy just as well as anyone else.

So what are your weaknesses?  What weaknesses could God use for His Glory?  Is there some area of your life that is so incredibly miserable that only God Himself would be able to redeem it?  Pray that God shows you a way in which He wants to use your weakness for His glory.

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