God Chooses the Most Unlikely People to Star in His Story!

God Chooses the Most Unlikely People to Star in His Story!

People love their reality shows, don’t they? Truthfully, I have never found them that interesting, but I overhear conversations about “Idol,” Dancing with the Stars,” Survivor,” and the “Voice.” We also have reality shows that highlight some famous family and all their drama.  I have enough drama of my own; I have little need to experience someone else’s.

But imagine for a moment that a new reality show is being cast and this new series will be a spellbind story about a man and a woman who build a dynasty. We are going to follow this couple from their first child birth through the building of this empire. Trust me; it is going to be a riveting story.  In our mind we conjure up this image of a handsome man and a gorgeous woman who meet, fall-in-love, and start building their empire. This is the pilot, and it is crucial to make the right call on the individuals who will launch this Kennedy-like family of influence and fame.

The season premier is scheduled and we sit glued to our television set waiting for this dynamic couple to be introduced.  The moment we have all been waiting for finally arrives and the actor and actress are brought into camera view and our mouths drop. Instead of the expected vibrant, young couple with gleaming white teeth and tanned and toned bodies, a 75-year-old man and a 65-year-old woman emerge.  Really! We shout across the living room, how can a dynasty be created from this most unlikely couple.

That is the question Abram and Sari have on their minds, too.  How can it be possible for us to have children must less start a nation? Sari is barren and for her entire life she has never been able to get pregnant and Abram is old and probably past child bearing years, too. I am sure they thought God was out of his mind. And yet, this is what God has chosen.  This is the couple God has chosen to start his “chosen” nation and the couple through which “all the nations of the earth would be blessed” (Genesis 12:1-3).

But that is not the rest of the story.  It will be another 25 years before this promise comes to pass.  By the time they finally have a child, Abram and Sarai will be 100 years old and 90 years old, respectively (and their names will be changed to Abraham and Sarah).  And, they will make numerous mistakes during this waiting period. We all hate waiting, don’t we? There is something at our very core that despises waiting. And, how many times have we tried to take matters into our own hands while waiting?

But this story is not just about waiting; it is more about the types of people that God picks to be a part of His Story. God picks people you and I wouldn’t necessarily select to take part in his story. In fact sometimes we are shocked who plays the starring roles in his stories.  Unlike the way we do business, God doesn’t choose people because of their ability, he chooses people because of their availability. God searches for people who are open to be used by him.  Who would have thought that God would choose a “farm-boy” from Delano, California to be one of his under-shepherds? Who would have thought he would have chosen you, either?

That’s good news, isn’t it?  In the business world, you may not have a great pedigree.  In academics, you may not be a Rhodes Scholar.  You may not have a lot of money and you may have average looks.  But you may be sitting in a pretty good position to be a top pick for God’s work. Are you available?

Creation: The Beginning of Life as We Know It

 

This last year my sister began searching our family tree through Ancestry.com.  She sent me over the link and I have to tell you I was fascinated looking through the tree and discovering grandparents, great-grand parents, great-great-grand parents and so on through 9 levels of grand-parents.  I found out that my lineage came from France (mais oui, bien sûr – which means “yes of course”) and I had two great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grand fathers who fought in the Revolutionary War. I could continue on with the stories, but I'm sure it doesn’t interest you the way it did me. Why? Because this is not your lineage, it is mine.

The excitement comes because it is “My Story.” Something that looks dull to others becomes intriguing to me, firing up my heart and igniting my imagination.  By looking at my lineage, I am reminded that I am part of something bigger than me; something that began before me and will continue on long after I am gone (should Jesus tarry.)  

That is why God wants us to know His story.  It’s found in another genealogy book, the Bible. And yes, it is our story because Adam and Eve are our far-distant great-great-great-great-great………grand-parents.  They are the ones who started it all. Let me make this personal! In His Book, God wants to take you into his house where he has framed photos of your ancestors––yes, these are folks you may not know but their photos are still lining the walls of his house.

In our story we will read of a family patriarch named Abraham whose faith was so powerful that he is listed in the Faith Hall of Fame in Hebrews Chapter 11.  We will see a matriarch named Ruth with courage that would make the most hardened warrior proud.  We learn of a stubborn distant relative named Jonah who rebels against God and gets swallowed by a huge fish. Then there is a timid man named Gideon who God calls a “mighty warrior” and he defeats his Midianite enemies with only 300 men of valor. You go Uncle Gideon! Then there is impetuous Peter and his big mouth and Paul who brought this story to the Gentiles so we too could be adopted by God as his very own sons and daughters.

Yet, in this story there is one more person that our Heavenly Father wants us to meet and that is His Son (our elder brother) Jesus.  He desires for us to look long into His eyes and hear his claims that what he began in the first chapter of the book, of creating a paradise for his people, will be realized in the last chapter of the book, where a perfect people can live in a perfect place with their perfect Lord…forever and forever.

The beauty of the Story is that you can be in this perfect place by accepting the perfect sacrifice, Jesus.  Will you be there? You can be there when you find your place in His Story.