Standard Bearers

Sometimes we think God is using us or choosing us because we’re “the best” or because we think that we are special. But confidence can turn into pride. God made us what we are and even if we do acknowledge that we can still find ourselves being prideful. Here’s how: we are NOT chosen by God because of absolutely ANYTHING we do. Before Christ & the Cross God looked at how the people followed the law (their works). But now that we are under Grace (we are saved by faith in the finished work of Christ at the Cross), God does not save us because we’re special. You are not special. You are unique, though. This is very different. God made you for a purpose in which aligns with His will for His pleasure. God put all the gifts and talents and smarts in you that you have. Even the greatest stars were given their wowing gifts by God, whether they know and acknowledge that or not. The truth remains, we are not special, but we are unique. Jesus is special. God is special. His creation is special because it is His creation. But we aren’t special because we think we’re special. We are unique in that God created each of us individually and sees us as individuals. He carved out a special space for you on the timeline of history. There is no other you. We are living stones. Unlike bricks which are nothing but copies of one another, each stone has its own color, its own unique shape and texture with certain grooves in it, each of which tells a different story. Each stone went through a process to become what it is. Just as a diamond goes through an excruciating pressure and heat filled process to become such a timeless beauty, so goes each of the living stones in God’s Kingdom. When stones are stacked correctly atop each other, no binding or glue is needed because the grooves fit together. However it takes a master architect, a skilled builder to understand where each stone should go and which ones should rest upon each other because only that master is skilled enough to make a collection of unlike stones into an impenetrable fortress. The Master in our lives is God. He arranges us and the ones around us to set us in our correct place. We may have a place that we want to be or that we think we should be, but only God knows where our specific and unique attributes fit perfectly. God doesn’t choose us because we’re special. He doesn’t choose us because we are the “best” or because of anything that we do. God chooses us actually because we are the least. God never chooses the likely person for the job. He’s not choosing you because you’re the best at something. In fact He might not even utilize that thing that you think you’re the best at or may even actually be the best at. He may use it, but He may not. What we have to understand is that our works, our talents, our looks, our acts are not what causes us to be worthy. We and our works are as filthy rags before God, even at our best. He chooses the lowest, He chooses the foolish, He chooses the unlikely. What He looks for is faith. Above all else, He is looking for our faith. No matter the circumstances, no matter the people who come in and out of our lives, no matter the pain – Are we still? Are we standing? Are we resting on our faith? Are we abiding in our faith? Are we eating, drinking, living, and breathing our faith? God is looking for the ones who don’t see the wind blowing, but are unmoved by disappointment and disruption in their lives. The ones who bring not to God their fleshly best (or leftovers as Cain did). But instead He is looking for those who come boldly to the Throne of Grace offering their faith in spirit and in truth.