Finding Your Place: God in the Details of Your Life

Years ago, as a student at a Baptist college, I heard a sermon that seemed so right – but was absolutely wrong!  The speaker said something like this:  "If you have sin in your life, God won't be able to use you; He will just use someone else and wait for you to get your life straightened out."  I, and all the other ministerial students at that service said loudly, "Amen!"  The message was a 'hit the sinners hard-with-the-gospel' approach that appealed to our youthful enthusiasm and affirmed our convictions regarding sin, and Christians who aren't 'serious' about Jesus.  We all went back to our dorm rooms' pumped up' about the message, and some of us even planned to use that approach, and maybe even that quote,' the very next time we preached. 

           

Over the next few days, though, I had time to think about the message, and I realized something: If God won't use someone with sin in their life, who will he use?  Also, if God cannot use someone who hasn't gotten their life straightened out, when will I know I'm good enough for God to use?  These were daunting questions, so I asked my preacher friends what they thought.  Some didn't worry about it because it sounded good, but some of my more thoughtful friends agreed with me – something was wrong with what the speaker had said!

           

There is a story in the Old Testament book of Ruth about a woman of the same name who was really in a bad spot in life in the land of Moab.  Her husband had died, and she was alone with her mother-in-law, Naomi, who had come from another country in the city of Bethlehem, with no real prospects for a good life.  She decided she would go back to Judah with her mother-in-law and adopt the elder woman's faith in God.  When they arrived in the land, she had no job or money, so she began to follow the laborers in the field after harvest, picking up the scraps for her and her in-law.  Over time, a man noticed her in the field and arranged to meet with her.  Things progressed quickly; they eventually married, and she had a son named Obed.  This isn't really an unusual story, except that her son Obed grew up and married a woman and had a son named Jesse, who had a son David, who grew to become the King of Israel!  The ultimate end to the story, given in Matthew 1, was that, centuries later, in King David's family, a child whose name was Jesus was born!  Yes, the Messiah, the Son of God, was born because God worked with a woman whose life was in a mess.  She was no one special, new to the Jewish faith, and had nothing to give to God – except her willingness to follow God's lead.  God used  Naomi's influence and family connections to lead her to depend upon God, and God worked his plan to include a Moabite woman, Ruth, to be included in Jesus' genealogy in the first chapter of the Gospel of Matthew. This was more than just an acknowledgment of history; her inclusion in Jesus' family ancestry was God's way of saying to the world that He could use anyone, from any place, in his plan for all mankind – even a woman born and raised Gentile! This story is a powerful reminder that God's plan is inclusive, and He can use anyone, from any background, in his mission for all mankind.

           

God wants everyone to know that to him, there is only one people on earth – all are part of his creation, and all are called to follow Jesus.  God loves all people and can use anyone, no matter their story, in his plan to save the world from sin.  God is calling you to faith in Jesus and to live a life of obedience to his plan.  God will use you, help you find your place in this life, and bless you into eternity when you follow Him!

 

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