THE EXTRAORDINARY LOVE OF GOD CHANGES ORDINARY PEOPLE

 

I was reminded this morning how very ordinary, humble and humbled people feature prominantly at the heart of God's plans and focus in the bible. In fact sometimes they are so ordinary, no one has noticed them but God. 

I'm thinking of the book of Ruth, a book dedicated to the domestic life of a marginalised women who had lost everything and had no future, but was included (Matthew 1:5, Ruth 4:13-17) in the eternal  and global family and purposes of a rescuing God. I'm thinking of the "lady of the streets" (Luke 7:37), marginalised (like Rahab Matt 1) who everyone thought of as "a nobody", which is why they failed to spot her at the elite public dinner of Simon (Luke 7:38) until overcome in worship of Jesus, she put everything unconditionally at his feet (herself, her shame, tears and guilt included).  She went away fully accepted and honoured by Christ, whilst Simon (the man to know) went to bed empty, unforgiving and unforgiven, rejected by the guest of honour. Her cry of worship and need was relationally accepted by Christ the living God  who became her friend and Saviour. Simon, however the man who thought he had everything to offer on his table, the articulate conversationalist, wasn't interested in a relationship with Jesus - (just some technical advice to accomplish and work out his own salvation). He thought he was somebody, but was exposed as a very ordinary, proud, hard hearted man, he just didn't want to admit it. He's not the one we want to remember, he wasn't transformed by extraordinary grace at the end of the episode. 

 ORDINARY PEOPLE IN THE EXTRAORDINARY PLAN OF GOD:

Foundational to God accepting us (and realigning us for usefulness in his purposes), is our acceptance that we are unimpressive, that our only true identity is found in who HE is. In a nutshell, one of the themes of the bible from GEN 1- REV 21 is "YOU are not GOD". A Christian is someone who knows that God knows ...

He knows the worst about us but loves us anyway.

The mission of God is about this extraordinary grace finding a home in the ordinary hearts and mess of people's lives, as we accept him for who he is, and accept ourselves as people who need him on every level ... all the time.

One great thing about ordinary people is that you can find them anywhere in the world. The other great thing is that it only takes an ordinary person to share the good news of our awesome and extraordinary rescuer. I thank God for 15 in the team preparing for short term mission from the UK. All unique, but all united by God's story of undeserved grace in our lives. Lord help us know and show our ordinariness and your extraordinariness. I thank God for extraordinary church family across the world today - seeing times of extraordinary change in people's lives after an extraordinary season of humbling. Praise God he works through the ordinary. Wherever you are today, may God fill your ordinary life, and may others see and hear of his extraordinary transformation of you in Jesus. 

C.S LEWIS was right... hardship and suffering (an extraordinary humbling time of global pandemic) can prepare the way for extraordinary blessing... I'm sure this is something happening globally in mission right now. However this adage is only true when we humbly submit before a loving God with open unconditional hands to receive his extraordinary grace and provision. This is what Ruth, and "the woman" with no name did. Don't be a Simon. Stop pretending, stop elevating yourself. Admit it, we're all in the same boat of ordinariness together... even people who design electric cars and space ships need God's grace, otherwise they have no ultimate answers for humanity, nothing eternal or of true and lasting worth to offer this world in its mess and sorrow.  If you know, show, and share Christ in your ordinary daily life - you have so much more to offer this world than Elon or anyone touted as "extraordinary".

 

John 1:16 

"And from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace."

Ephesians 2:8-9

"For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast."

2 Corinthians 12:9

 “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

1 Corinthians 15:10 

But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain.