I love this verse in 1 Corinthians chapter one where Paul writes, “God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are.”

It’s pretty amazing when you stop and begin to digest this passage. When you investigate the claim made here by Paul you begin to realize that he’s really not stretching that much at all. Paul’s own life is the perfect example of this truth. He was the number one persecutor of Christ followers in his day. It just happened that God got a hold of him one day and knocked him off his… uh… donkey. After Paul’s (then called Saul) encounter with Jesus his life was forever changed. He went from persecutor to preacher seemingly overnight.

For my money, I think I’d make Paul wait and prove himself to be not a persecutor for at least a week or something… I mean seriously, a day before his encounter with Christ he is on a mission to turn in more followers of, “The Way.” Maybe God got it wrong, maybe Paul/Saul slipped through His screening process, maybe one of the angels made a mistake when passing along resumes to the almighty…

Or.

Maybe God’s just gracious like that.

Maybe God’s willing to take us and use us in our current condition. He’s willing to accept us for who we are and see potential in us that we didn’t see in ourselves. He did that with Paul and He’s shown a propensity to use the unqualified for amazing miracles.

Abraham
Liar, Elderly & Sterile…
…Father of Nations
Jacob
Thief, Liar & Deceiver…
…Father of the 12 Tribes of Israel
Moses
Murderer & Stutterer…
…Led the God’s people out of slavery
Rahab
Prostitute…
…Helped Israelite spies escape Jericho
Sampson
Covenant breaker…
…Hero God used to save Israel
Gideon
Coward, least in his family…
…Hero who once again saves Israel
David
Scrawny musician, youngest brother…
…Became Israel’s King
David (Part 2)
Adulterer, Assassin & Conspirator…
…A man after God’s own heart?
Solomon
Love child (conceived in affair)…
…Built God’s Temple
Israel’s Kings
Each one virtually worse than the previous…
…Placed in authority by God
Prophets
Cooked food using dung for fuel, married prostitute, lying around naked…
…Chosen to Speak for God
Mary
Unwed Teen Pregnancy…
…Gave birth to the Savior of all mankind
John the Baptist
Locust eater w/ no fashion sense…
…Prepared the way for Jesus & baptized Him
Jesus
Plain looking, unassuming homeless man…
…Savior and Lord of All
Disciples
uneducated fishermen, crooked tax collectors, anarchist, dishonest, stiff necked & unbelieving…
…Chosen by Jesus to change the world
Peter – Quick tempered, potty-mouthed, Christ denying no good…
…Cornerstone for the NT church
Paul
Working to arrest all Christ followers in his path…
…Author of most of the NT, Evangelist, Church Planter

And the list could go on.

God’s will always gets accomplished. The question is, “Are you in? Do you want to be used by God to bring about His purposes?”

I do.

I’m really happy to know that I’m qualified to start now, just as I am.