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Those whom God chooses God chooses the strangest people to do His work in the earth. In 1 Kings 18:20-39, the story is told of Elijah the Prophet who calls down fire from heaven. It is a dramatic account of one man calling out to God and receiving an awe-inspiring response. Yet, in James 5:17, the author writes, “Elijah was a man with a nature like ours ...” (NASB). As evidence, just a few verses later in 1 Kings 19:3-4, Elijah is found cowering for his life, fearful of a vengeful queen, and sincerely praying to die. Quite a contrast from the dramatic accounting of Elijah earlier on Mt. Carmel. Then, in verse 9, God visits Elijah who is hiding in a cave and asks, “Elijah, what are you doing here?” The scriptures present its apostles, prophets, and saints in all of their glory and, at the same time, in all of their humanity — including their failures, flaws, and sins. Perhaps it is so that we can know that God uses people who are, as we say, “messed up.” Noah, for example, was an obedient servant who labored for decades to build an ark and to save his family and humanity. Yet Noah, following the months-long voyage, is found by his family drunk and naked. Abraham, the “friend of God” and “father of faith,” was a great man of faith and a powerful warrior. He also tried to give away his wife and lied in order to save his own skin. Moses was the Great Emancipator of Israel and the “Giver of the Law.” He was also a murderer, a fugitive, was reluctant to obey God, and was given to outbursts of anger. David the Shepherd-King was a mighty man of war, a “man after God’s own heart,” and the greatest song writer of the Testaments. He was also an adulterer, a schemer, a murderer, a betrayer of loyal friends, and a user of people. Solomon was the wisest of ancient men and the builder of the Great Temple. He was also a compromiser and a man who had his own share of woman troubles. In the New Testament, Peter was a man of passionate action, great physical courage, and a “rock.” He could also be cowardly, legalistic, and prone to making promises he couldn’t keep. Paul, the gifted preacher and missionary, was possibly the most brilliant author and theologian of the New Testament Age. He could also be intolerant of men he deemed “weaker” and ran the danger of discarding men that had God’s call on their lives. In fact, all of the Apostles, who participated in miracles and lived a sacrificial life, were filled with ambition and were rebuked for their desire for glory, honor, and power. In a more modern time, John Wesley, the tireless evangelist and gifted preacher and author who brought a great revival to England and to the American Colonies had a terribly miserable marriage. Martin Luther, the Great Reformer, and a man of outstanding courage, was given to deep bouts of depression and despair. Charles Spurgeon, a golden-tongued orator and one of the greatest church builders of his time was morbidly obese. Even the late Mother Teresa, whom many called a “living saint” and lived with and as the poorest of the poor was plagued with doubts and a sense of the absence of God’s presence for much of her last 50 years. Paul says that the church is built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets — all of whom are flawed, fallible, and sinful — every one. Yet it is the “Cornerstone,” Jesus Christ himself, who holds it all together and builds the “living stones,” flawed men and women, into “God’s Holy Temple (see Eph 4:11-13 and 2:20-22). If God had to use unflawed, infallible, sinless people, then He would have no one to work with at all because, “If we say we have no sin, we lie and the truth is not in us.” We are fairly comfortable with biblical saints and historic religious figures having major flaws in their character, but we are viciously intolerant and brutally judgmental of those with whom we are contemporaries. These people we want publicly exposed and removed from service — even while we call for mercy for our own sinful, flawed, fallible selves. Historians tend to be more charitable and objective toward flawed leaders than we seem to be. Elijah was a man, James says — flawed, fallible, and imperfect. But in God’s hands, such men and women change human history. And God doesn’t even seek our permission or our approval to choose whom he will. login to post comments | Father David Epps's blog
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