I’m stepping away from Romans for today’s message.  In the US culture, you are raised up to believe that you can be anything you want to be.  Well, you know what I wanted to be?  I wanted to be a quarterback in the NFL.  I didn’t care much about which team, but I wanted to be out there, running the team – leading us to victory each week.  There was a problem with that plan though – I’m not 6’5″, I’m not particularly fast, and I can’t hit a receiver 40 yards downfield on the fly.  This is why (sad to say) I will never make it as an NFL quarterback, or even be the quarterback of a social league.

Now by the time people reach 30 or so, they have come to realize that certain dreams (like playing in the NFL) are just not going to happen.  They may lament this fact somewhat, but for the most part move on with their life and pursue other endeavors.  What I find fascinating, however, is that this desire for “grandeur” seems to replay itself over and over again, even within the church.  You have pastors who see other pastors with larger congregations and they try to emulate their style and “get funny”, you have lay persons within the church almost lobbying for leadership positions within the church, and you have a borderline competition amongst people who go on mission trips to see who can post the most pictures holding third world children on their Facebook page.  Amazing.  With all this striving, I wonder how much peace is actually present in these people’s lives.  My guess is not much.  So I wanted to take a day today, not to puff everyone up, but to remind you of your value in Christ, and hopefully allow you to rest in God’s providence.

There are two passages in scripture I want to look at today 1 Corinthians 1:26-31 which goes to why God chose us and Ephesians 2:8-10 which will touch on God’s providential plan for us.

1 Corinthians 1:26-31 – “Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth.  But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.  God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not —to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him.  It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.  Therefore, as it is written: “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.”

I hear it all the time from Christians… oh if only so and so famous person was a Christian, what an impact on God’s Kingdom they would have.  I want to ask that person… “really?”.  Do you really think that God is limited in any way by that person not following Him?  This is not chance, this is God’s plan! He has CHOSEN the weaker things of this world to show that the surpassing power belongs to Christ, not man!  Oh, I love my brothers and sisters in Christ, but sometimes I want to shake them and ask them – don’t you see?  This isn’t about you, or any one person, it is about Christ!  He must increase, and we must decrease!

Why didn’t God make me smarter?  Why didn’t God make me more attractive?  Why didn’t God make me rich?  What didn’t God make me famous?  “God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things – and the things that are not – to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him.”  I am NOT against ambition, but what is your goal?  Do you realize that the glory of God is seen much greater when God accomplishes much out of little?  Was Jesus impressed by all the tithes that were coming into the temple of large amounts or of the small tithe of the widow?  Mark 12:41-44 – “Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents.  Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others.  They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”

Did Jesus turn around and make the widow materially rich?  No.  God had chosen to make His glory known for all eternity through the poverty of this woman.  That is a greater reward than any amount of money.  This story although uniquely captured in scripture, is not unique in design – God has a plan for each of us.    Ephesians 2:8-10 – “by grace you have been saved, through faith —and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.  For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”