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June 9, 2008
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=========================== TODAY'S ARTICLE ==========================
NOT Just Another Face in the Crowd, by Phil Ware
"I just want to be somebody! I want my life to matter!"
As kids, we played games pretending to be someone important. Our
beloved stories as children involved ugly ducklings becoming beautiful
swans and a mistreated stepdaughter, named Cinderella, becoming the
beautiful princess chosen by the handsome prince. But life seems to
beat the dreams out of most of us. We settle for more pedestrian plans
and give up our "unrealistic" dreams of being someone important who is
part of something important and is specifically chosen to do something
important. We settle for being spectators cheering for strangers to win
games that mean very little so we can chant "We're number 1!"
Luke writes to reawaken our dreams. "Cinderella isn't a fairy tale!"
his story reminds us, "look at Mary, she becomes the mother of the
Messiah." "Ugly ducklings do become lovely swans!" his gospel tells us,
"remember Elizabeth and Anna who are gloriously blessed after years of
disappointment." "Snow White CAN come back to life!" his words beckon
us to believe, for "more than just hopes get resurrected in the Jesus
story."
And it all begins with the least likely of heroes ...
Luke introduces us to an old, forgotten but faithful priest and his
wife. God chooses Zechariah "by lot" to serve in the Temple, something
he would only do once his whole life. The "barren" Elizabeth suddenly
is given a son in her old age. Together, they are filled with
Spirit-inspired prophecy after nine months of a baby growing in
Elizabeth's womb and silence covering Zechariah's days.
God wants us to be part of something important. Mary, Elizabeth's
relative, is given a child in her womb without the help of a man. The
angel Gabriel, sent straight from the very presence of God himself,
informs her of this coming miracle. This peasant and godly young woman
becomes the mother of God's Messiah, the Promised One of Israel.
Simeon, an old and devout "religious fanatic" is blessed to see and
hold the Redeemer of Israel. He is filled with the Holy Spirit and
prophesies about the destiny of this Wonder Child.
God chooses Anna, an "old widow woman" dedicated to prayer in God's
Temple, to be the first preacher proclaiming the arrival of the Savior.
Meanwhile, the rich, powerful, and influential are mere bystanders and
pawns in God's great drama of redemption. King Herod is merely the
token tyrant in the story. Caesar Augustus is only the prop that brings
Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem. Quirinius, the governor of Syria, is a
mere historical reference marking the time of the Messiah.
A whole host of everyday unknowns are swept up into God's glorious
drama of grace. Shepherds, once glorious because of the heritage of
Abraham and David, are now despised. Yet when God announces the birth
of his Son with a heavenly chorus of angels, shepherds tending their
flocks on the hillside are the chosen audience for God's symphony of
joy. They become the first human witnesses proclaiming the birth of the
Savior, Christ the Lord. The unknowns of the world — the village
friends of Zechariah and Elizabeth, the residents of the unknown inn
near where Jesus was born, the Temple goers who heard Anna and Simeon —
become the first to know about God's glorious arrival.
You see, God wants us to be part of something important. So he had
everyday folks play the key roles in his story of salvation. He wants
us to find our face in the crowd, the person most like us, and realize
that this story is not just FOR us, it is ABOUT us. We are important to
the Creator of the universe. We are part of something important and
lasting and wondrous when we tell others about this Jesus. When God
tuned the world to his grace, we were asked to join his heavenly chorus
and proclaim with joy, "Our Redeemer, Christ the Lord, has come!"
Luke wants us to know that this story is ultimately about us being more
than just another face in the crowd. It is about us being chosen by God
to be his partners, in his story, to share his joy and grace and
salvation in the birth of Jesus!
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God wants us to be part of something important.
God wants us to know that we are precious to Him -- we are definitely
not just another face in the crowd. He tells us this in His Word and
also through the gift of His Son. Our Christian lives are lived in
response to God's high cost to redeem us and high estimation of our
value.
The apostle Paul put it this way to the Christians in Colossae: "[L]ive
a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way ... giving joyful
thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance
of his people in the kingdom of light" (Colossians 1:9-12 TNIV).
What difference would it make if we truly believed that God had
"qualified" and "redeemed" and "reconciled" us and made us worthy
because of His love for us?
How would it change our view of our own worth?
How would it change the way we viewed our brothers and sisters in
Christ?
How it would it change our opportunity to worship our God of grace with
these people?
What's your take on all of us this? I'd love to hear from you on my
blog:
http://www.thephilfiles.com/2008/06/08/pleasing-god/
---------
(c) 2008 Phil Ware <phil@heartlight.org>. All rights reserved.
RELATED LINKS:
* Bombarded with Self
http://www.heartlight.org/articles/200610/20061018_self.html
* Am I Beyond God's Forgiveness?
http://www.heartlight.org/articles/200007/20000711_forgiveness.html
* The Weather When Jesus Came
http://www.heartlight.org/articles/199912/19991215_weather.html
* Southern Hills Church of Christ
http://www.southernhillschurch.org
This article can be found on the web at:
http://www.heartlight.org/articles/200806/20080609_notjustaface.html
=========================== FEATURED PRODUCT =========================
WOW WORSHIP 2006, by Various Artists
Fly away on the wings of the year's best worship songs! Two CDs.
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