Don’t you just admire people whom you see serving God and His people in an extraordinary way? Whether you listen to eloquent speakers in your prayer meetings, or when they sing with gilted voices, or when they have deep insights during your bible study, or when they are able to prophesy with wisdom and knowledge of God’s will?
Praise God for them, right?
DO YOU FEEL YOU DON’T HAVE WHAT IT TAKES TO SERVE GOD?
Now I hope this doesn’t happen to you, but have you every shied away or judged yourself as incapable, and therefore you think you have nothing to contribute in service of God because you think you’re not as good as those you admire?
Let’s look at today’s gospel and see whether we can draw inspiration to overcome our insecurities, to trust God and to happily bring good news of hope to others. The gospel for today, in Luke 11: 37-41, narrates an incident when a Pharisee invites Jesus for dinner at his home, but who criticizes Jesus for not washing His hands before dining, almost as if saying, He has no business preaching to others because He’s not equal to them in their meticulous appearance. Then Jesus retorts by saying something to the effect that it is not what is external that is important in honoring and serving God. Basically, He’s saying that what matters to God is what motivates us, and what drives us to do what we do, no matter how imperfect or unpolished we might be compared to others.
Truly, God sees what is in our hearts, and He is not impressed by outward appearances. He didn’t care if Moses was not eloquent, but He called and used him anyway to convince Pharaoh to let the Israelites return home. God didn’t care if Gideon was a cowardly farmer, but He used him anyway to lead a small band of 300 men to drive out the armies of the oppressors of Israel. And remember, even Paul the great, scholarly apostle was given a thorn on his side in order to keep him from being conceited.
Remember especially what Jesus said about the widow who had only two mites to offer in the temple.
GOD SEES THE DESIRES OF YOUR HEART: GUARD IT
You see, if our desire is to help, if our desire is to give hope, if our desire is to draw people to know God, to trust in God, to honor God, remember, that desire was planted by God in our hearts. Yes, that desire is all we need in order for God to use us for His glory. No matter how little we think of ourselves — compared to those whom we hold in high regard for their admirable gifts – no matter how simple or how crude our efforts might look in the eyes of the world, as long as our desire is to love our neighbor and to honor God, then God’s light will shine in the darkness through us, and His power will be made perfect in our imperfections.
YOUR JOB IS TO SOW SEEDS, LEAVE THE FRUIT-BEARING UP TO GOD
And, please, don’t think to measure your worth by the thousands that will miraculously come to listen to you preach, nor by the boatload of fish that you will catch, or by the number of likes in your facebook post. Banish this thought, for this is the root of conceit and pride. It is a temptation to draw attention to yourself, and away from God.
It’s funny isn’t it. But Satan will use either your insecurities or your successes to steal the glory from God. So guard your heart because the devil picks on our motives.
My word of encouragement for all of us today is simply this. If God calls you to plant seeds of hope, though you may never be around to see this seed take root and grow into an abundant tree, plant the seeds anyway. Do it because you want to honor God, not because you think you will be successful. Then God who will be pleased with you planting that small seed, will say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
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