God takes ordinary
things and does extraordinary things through them, for His glory.
This Christmas season, I have been reflecting on God’s use
of ordinary objects, places, and people, to bring attention to His power. A girl.
A carpenter. A small town. A stable. A feeding trough. A couple socially award
outcasts called shepherds. A star.
God trusted mankind to raise His Son in a small town, with a
humble family, and a common occupation of wood working. When Jesus was 30 years
old, he began his public ministry (30 doesn’t seem so bad anymore, Hallelujah!).
John baptized him in the river and proclaimed Jesus was the Messiah everyone
was waiting for! (Since John and Jesus were cousins, I wonder if they had met
each other before this?) Once in the womb, John leapt for joy when his mother Elizabeth
heard Mary’s voice. Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied to
Mary:
Blessed are you
among women and blessed is the fruit in your womb! But who am I that the mother
of my Lord would come to me? As soon as I heard your voice, the baby leapt
inside my womb for joy. Blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment
of what was spoken to her from the Lord!
How kind of God to give Mary a sign to confirm what was
spoken to her from the angel! She found her cousin Elizabeth pregnant with John,
just like the angel Gabriel had told her! John was also a part of the fulfillment
of prophecy. I can’t help but wonder what was going through John’s mind when
Jesus came walking into the Jordan River to greet him to request his baptism.
After being baptized by John, Jesus began inviting ordinary
men to follow him. Fishmen. A tax collector. A thief. He walked with them
through life, taking intentional moments to teach them about the Kingdom of Heaven
and what was to come. On his last night with his followers, he took bread and a
cup from an ordinary meal and made it something the followers of Jesus partake
in today. The bread now symbolizes Jesus’ body that was given for us, and the
wine symbolizes his blood that was to be poured out for the sake of the world.
Then they took an ordinary tree and formed it into a cross.
This cross, that used to be a symbol of fear and death, now stands for mercy
and unconditional love.
God took an ordinary man and made him new. God now takes
ordinary people and transforms them into extraordinary vessels that He empowers
to bring His name glory.
“But we have this
treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and
not to us.” – 2 Corinthians 4:7
Jars of clay were used as common household items that can be
easily disposed of if rendered useless. The could hold anything from important
family documents to food waste. We are ordinary people and He is an
extraordinary God. Who are we that He would entrust this message of hope and
salvation for all of the world?
This Christmas I encourage you to not give material
things to others that will collect dust, but give a gift that you will not
receive back. Give you time, attention, and love to those around you. After all,
the greatest gift that God has given us is Himself.
