Are You a Person God Can Use?

Here’s a simple test to see if you are a person God can use. Answer the following questions honestly. Careful now. This will get tricky.

Question 1. Are you perfect?

If you answered NO, congratulations! You might be a person God will use. You see, perfection is not required in God’s economy. If you’re waiting until you’re perfect, you’ll be waiting a long time. Besides, look at the people God used in the Bible. You won’t find perfection among them, with one notable exception (and you know what happened to him!)

In fact, I’ll go one step further. I don’t even think you need to wait until you are excellent. I think effectiveness and efficiency trump excellence any day, hands down. So if you’re looking for a place to serve God, start with whatever is in front of you and do it to the best of you ability and let God do the rest.

Question 2. Are you willing?

This is essential. God rarely uses unwilling people.

Two questions. Simple answers. Now what are you waiting for? Be attentive and do what God presents to you to be done. Hurting people don’t care if you do it perfectly, they just want to know that someone cared.

That’s it. (I told you it would be tricky!)

 

Talking to Myself

Yesterday, while doing a search for a old professor from my college days, I came across a photo of myself that I had no idea existed. At first, it creeped me out to discover a picture of myself in a college library internet archive and to find myself correctly identified as well. The picture was taken around 1971, 40 years ago.

My second thought, after getting over the creepiness, was what I would like to tell that 19 year-old me.

If I could do a little time travel, I would like to tell that 19 year old that:

• Life will deal you some blows. You will have trials and adversity. But do not despair. In the end, God will use every event of your life for your good and His glory. Really. (Ephesians 1:11)
• You will also experience some great adventures. Savor life. Enjoy the ride. Treasure people along the way.
• Develop an eternal perspective. Your relationships with people are the only things you’ll take with you when you leave this earth. Cultivate those.
• You are capable of more than you know. Dispense with self-doubt. Banish fear. Be bold. Act on faith. Take courage.
• God has a plan for you, bigger than you can see today. Pursue His purpose.
• Save a little of every paycheck.

Now, I’m wondering what the 79 year-old me (20 years into the future) might like to say to the “now” me? Perhaps it wouldn’t be so much different.

 

Knowing About God…

vs. knowing Him. Such a big difference. Some are satisfied with the intellectual pursuit of God. I’ve been guilty of that. Even the pursuit of apologetics and the proofs of Christ’s resurrection… all good and worthy of study. But unless we unlock the relationship element, it’s all for no good.

Certainly God wants us to know about Him. And the more we know, the better. However, God is not impressed by our knowledge of Him. What He wants more is friendship… relationship. Some will argue that our knowledge of God will enhance our relationship with Him. True enough. The more I know about my wife, the better our relationship will be. However, an intellectual pursuit of knowledge about my wife without getting to KNOW her would be, well, dry and unappealing as marriages go.

God desires, longs for, a relationship in which there is two way communication… we allow Him to enter our lives. We give Him permission to have a friendship… we invite relationship, and then our pursuit of knowledge of Him will produce a deeper love.

Ahh, there it is. Love. Without love, it’s all academic and void of life– “a clanging cymbal” as it were. If we let God in, we will begin to enjoy Him (and His creation) to a greater degree. And He will enjoy us enjoying Him. A loving relationship in which more knowledge only produces more love.