I got together with a friend of mine the other day for Coffee. Ben, Praying Mantis, is a laid-back guy. In his early thirties, Ben often reminds me a little like a kid. Not in the immature kind of way, I think it’s in his outlook on life. He has a great family too, 3 kids, and a cool wife. A few things that always stick out in my mind when I’m with Ben are that (1) he’s a dreamer, (2) he likes to work towards those dreams and see what God does with them, and (3) he’s honest. Sitting outside of Starbucks on Thursday afternoon, our conversation turned to the topic of being used by God. I remember Ben leaning over to me in his blue cammo cargo pants and saying something to the effect of, “Do you ever think that the people that God uses aren’t really right in the head?” I mean, think about Luther throwing ink bottles acrossed the room when he sensed that there was an evil spirit present in the room, or how about Francis of Assisi stripping down to his birthday suit in the middle of town, or kissing a leper. What about G.K. Chesterton who would always be so much in his own little world that he would forget where he was, or Thomas Merton who would say some down right weird things when he was around his friends. Or how about Moses with his studdering, Elijah with his manic depression, Jeremiah who would cry all the time, or even David who danced naked. In view of all that, I’m a little less awed by the fact that God might use me and more scared that He chooses to. I might not compare with the great acheivements of these other people, but are my quirks any competition? I’m not sure if I want to know the answer to that. 🙂
I’m introducing a new series. It’s called “Unlikely Heroes.”
I want God to use me, I don’t know how He will but that’s up to Him to decide. I’ll be thinking about this topic this week. But right now…I’m going to go Christmas caroling.