Friday, October 29, 2010

Why me Lord?








I had some reflection time, with a little help from Fr.John, on this passage in Luke's gospel; 6:12-16.

It occurred to me that when Jesus chose His followers and took twelve as disciples, He made some rather eronious choices.

On first examination one sees that He has chosen out of all the people in His society the bottom of the barrel, in a manner of speaking.
Sinners, crooks, hotheads, cowards and whatever else we can call these misfits, were His first draft picks to lead the multitudes and teach His Good News legacy.

I'm not sure what others would think about this passage, but for me on first inspection it seems to make very little sense.
In today's world if you are looking for a good leader you go out and look for the smart ones, especially those who have good background references from past experience, before making your final decision.

I noticed also that throughout the Gospels Jesus did a lot of things differently than the norm of His day.

But back to the choices Jesus made.
I asked myself what possible reason could Jesus have had to make these choices, when He could have chosen from the educated and law abiding citizens in Jewish society.

And then the light went on.
If Jesus had chosen from the upper echelons of Jewish hierarchy Christianity would have died with Him on the cross.
And where would that have left us gentiles, the rest of the infidel pagan society outside of God's chosen people?

We would undoubtedly be living life without the knowledge of the loving God I have gotten to know.

In this case it seems that the best person for the job wasn't the one with the best qualifications after all.

And after considering the consequences of Jesus' choices I can rest confidently in the knowledge that if God calls me to service it is because I'm not necessarily the brightest bulb on the string, but I am the one that He chooses to light up that particular instant in the place I am at.

When I think about the gravity of the meaning of God calling me to serve in His fields I'm left scratching my head and asking; "Why me lord?", as many of His followers may have done after realizing what they were being asked.

And the answer is invariably always, because you're the one I need for the job! Now get-er-done!

4 comments:

  1. NOW!I soooooooooooo enjoyed this post! Made me smile, made me think,made me nod my head in agreement....good post Francois!

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  2. You know what I see in this, that God uses and chooses the unlikely and that my friend fills me with great joy, cause I'm as unlikely as you get and He digs me! Great post!

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  3. Oh how I enjoyed reading this post...you my friend, have hit the nail on the head.....He uses us because we know we have no power and therefore, His power is free to shine through us...If we felt qualified, we wouldn't need Him and therefore, He couldn't use us......

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  4. How gracious for God to pick those he did. If God can use such a bunch because they were willing(well I suppose he can use those not willing too, he is God after all)it shows me he can use us/me.

    Yesterday's reading: "Your strength will come from settling down in complete dependence on me". (Is 30:15 msg)

    I am helpless to accomplish anything without him.

    Your post gives me pause to thank and praise God for the way he works once again.

    Thank you!

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