I AM so special

1 Corinthians 1:27-30
But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, …
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Wow! I need to regularly be reminded of this.

1. I am in Christ because of God. Not because of me.

2. His choosing me doesn’t indicate I am special. In fact, it indicates the opposite since he chooses the foolish, the weak, the lowly, the despised. So I fit at least one, if not all, of those categories.

3. His choosing me isn’t really even about me, but it is to shame the wise, the strong, etc. It is like a super baseball star who agrees to play using a broom handle instead of a bat and a dish rag for a glove just to show off that he can beat the guys who think they are hot with all their great equipment.  You and I are the broom handles and dish rags God is using just to show how awesome He is.

God is saying to the world, that values wisdom, strength and honor, “Watch what I can do with this nobody – this nothing, this often disobedient, dull to hear, goof up. I will accomplish great things through even him.”

So ultimately His choosing of me was not because I am so great or so special (despite what modern theology may tell you) but because He is so great and so special. He chooses us to bring glory to HIS name.

To a proud person that might be insulting but it actually brings relief to me. My bringing glory to God is not about me doing it all right, never messing up, never making a mistake (as wonderful as that would be) but it is about Him. The responsibility to bring honor to His name in my life rests squarely on HIS big shoulders. I am encouraged by that.
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Psalm 115:1 (NIV)
Not to us, O Lord, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness.