Whom God Uses

Whom God Uses

Read: Matthew 9:9-13

“I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Matthew 9:13

“Grace is love that cares and stoops and rescues.”

—John R. W. Stott

IN WORD It’s quite an intimidating list, if you think about it.

• Abraham the man of faith

• Moses the lawgiver

• David, a man after God’s own heart

• Elijah the prophet

• Peter the rock

• Paul the evangelist

Heroes of our faith. God’s anointed. Role models we can never live up to. Or so we think. It is profoundly encouraging that the great examples of faith and godliness in the Bible are not really the superhuman spiritual giants we’ve traditionally made them to be. If they were, few of us would be eligible for God’s service. We just can’t relate to their spiritual stature.

Let’s take another look at that list.

• Abraham the liar (Genesis 12:13) and the impatient one (Genesis 16:2)

• Moses the murderer (Exodus 2:12)

• David the adulterer (2 Samuel 11:2-5)

• Elijah, prone to despair and suicide (1 Kings 19:3-4)

• Peter the denier (Matthew 26:69-75)

• Paul the persecutor (Acts 8:3)

And the list goes on: Jonah the disobedient complainer, Matthew the tax collector, Rahab the prostitute, Jacob the deceiver, and many, many more. What churches or ministries today would accept them for service? God did. Not only did He use them in His service, He showcases them in His Word. They are trophies of His grace.

IN DEED So are we. Who can claim to be beyond His grace? Even more, who can claim to be beyond His service? God delights in overcoming our flaws, in showing His power through our weakness. Rejoice in the encouragement of God, who gave us in His Word examples of faith who were as human as we are. And know this—that if His call was meant for such as these, it is meant for us.