Recently someone suggested to me, I should tell stories of ordinary people God chooses to intersect our lives when he decides to use us in ministry. He truly is the one who takes ordinary people like me, and arranges divine appointments with other ordinary people to accomplish something great that we could never do on our own. This is how he receives the glory, and credit for the work to be done. As I think about this, I see that throughout the Bible, God always chooses ordinary real life people who the world would not have necessarily chosen! Throughout my ministry experience I remember all those who prayed for and encouraged me; family, single adults, stay at home moms, church/ministry staff, church members, friends, those who stepped up to help with the workload, and those who opened doors to give me the opportunity to use my God given strengths, abilities, and gifts. These people for the most part have done this as servant leaders, not looking for something in return, using this opportunity not to promote themselves. Americans today, including many Christians, have confused Christianity with karma. Tim Tebow who is in the national spotlight is under much scrutiny. He is an ordinary person God is using on his team accomplishing something that could not be done on his own, and Tebow is giving the glory to God. In an article written by Rick Brown, America does not understand Tim Tebow, Christianity he says:
“…much of Americas, of Tebow’s Christianity is all about what Tebow does or doesn’t do. Reilly went on to say on The Herd that he had hired a lip reader to make sure Tebow wasn’t swearing on the sidelines at football games, and he hired a private investigator to make sure Tebow wasn’t going to strip clubs or involved in any similar behavior during the week.
If this is America’s understanding of Christianity, than any of us calling ourselves Christian have failed…miserably. What Reilly described is an evaluation of works. “Good things” done, “bad things” not done. But central to Christianity isn’t about doing things. Tebow loves on hurting kids in hospitals because he has a heart for them. It’s an opportunity to help them. That’s something he does that thousands of other Americans do every day. And Timmy would tell you that too.
Tebow also does those things because he believes that good works show himself to be a witness of his faith, but Tebow is not working on a system of karma. And karma is exactly how modern America perceives Christianity. Modern America has all but forgotten its Judeo-Christian heritage, and with it has a total misconception of what it is to claim to be a Christian. Today for the average American, Christianity is about works. It is a lifestyle choice that when failed illustrates to the voyeur that the claimer must have been fake. But what the media and America doesn’t understand is that Tebow doesn’t claim to be perfect and his Christian faith doesn’t make that claim of perfection of its followers or make him perfect either
Tebow’s claim to being a Christian is not a claim of karma, a belief that if he does enough good things he can one day be weighed on some ubiquitous scale of right and wrong and be proven righteous.”
I am so thankful it is not up to me to earn what job I will have in heaven, how many crowns I will receive, or whether God will bless me with what I think I need in this life. In God’s eyes, my value and what others think of me is not based on position, status, or achievements. I am grateful for the people who God has used to allow me to be on the team God uses. At this time 2 years ago, I never dreamed I would be going around the world ministering to people in third world countries. God used Mary Dean to ask me to be on God’s team with Stonebiar Community Church in India. Last year I thought I was going to India in August, but God instead used Lila Farmer, a member of my Sunday class, to introduce me to Solomon Kimuyu a native Kenyan. I spent 5 weeks with Solomon and Lila in Kenya ministering through Solomon Center for Leadership to the church in and around Nairobi. Through these experiences, I saw the power of God at work, using ordinary people to do extraordinary things, knowing God was receiving the credit and glory!
Kathy's Blog 