Imogen Campbell
For when one says, 'I follow Paul,' and another, 'I follow Apollos,' are you not mere human beings? What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. 1 Corinthians 3:4-7, NIV
Recently, I fell into the trap that so easily besets us, as humans: revering man above God.
A clip of a minister who had masterfully responded to an atheist enquiring about the origins of God in relation to matter, time and space came to my attention. As you can well imagine, I was gobsmacked.
The theologian in question responded in so emphatic a manner and exuded such confidence that I was filled with admiration, immediately taken by the individual’s learned background and intrigued by his person.
And in so doing, I missed the whole point of how great God was, patently highlighted when I shared the clip with friends and one promptly remarked that based on these premises raised from the Word, she should have no problem trusting in this great God. A forceful statement of faith, indeed.
It was a moment to reflect upon. Instead of meditating on the goodness of God, I thought about a human’s ability to craft a really good argument. For me, it showed me how easily I could place my focus on the ability of human beings instead of the glory and goodness of God. And how easily I missed the point.
Perhaps it is why Isaiah 53 reveals that Jesus had no majesty in his physical appearance to distract us from the essence of his message. Allegedly, Moses stammered when speaking and as for the Twelve Apostles – a motley crew of men – they were as diverse and as flawed as they come.
What about Paul? From reading about him in the Scriptures, I am sure that had I met him in person, I would have found myself so intimidated in his presence. Yet, 2 Corinthians 10:10 states: "For some say, “His letters are weighty and forceful, but in person he is unimpressive and his speaking amounts to nothing.”While Galatians 6:11 seems to indicate that his eyesight was poor and large lettering was used: "See what large letters I use as I write to you with my own hand!"
I, for one, am certainly happy that ordinary folk can be used to do great things in the hands of an extraordinary God.
Prayer: Lord, thank you that you use us as we are, warts and all. In your kingdom, we all have a role to play. Amen.