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Acts 9:10 NLT
‘Now there was a believer in Damascus named Ananias. The Lord spoke to him in a vision, calling, “Ananias!” “Yes, Lord!” he replied.’
Growing up, I loved to play make-believe games. Favourite characters included Robin Hood and William Tell, both in the books I read and in the TV I watched. I fashioned my own bow and arrows and created Sherwood Forest in the garden and park at the end of my road. Weekends I often joined with friends as we acted out our imaginary adventures as a band of merry men robbing the rich and feeding the poor.
I can remember when I became a Christian at Oxford being asked to share my testimony. It wasn’t that I minded sharing, just that I didn’t think I had anything much to share. I’d heard the most remarkable stories of individuals who had stepped free from drug addiction, gangland crimes and violent lives. All I’d done was to go to university, hear an appeal and say “yes” to exploring life with Jesus. I felt so ordinary, and as such devalued myself and my story. In reality, my testimony was the same as these extraordinary individuals who came to church to speak, or whose books I’d read. We’d each heard the voice of Jesus inviting us to follow him.
My difficulty was in accepting that my salvation was of equal worth to those who’d left such a life of violent criminality behind them. Somehow their stories seemed to diminish mine and I felt a minnow by comparison. Of course, it was the same power of God, the same crucifixion and the same Pentecostal Spirit that had worked salvation for each one of us, so in reality that was a great leveller. The problem was in my own eyes only.
Now, being the person I was, and then finding my way into Youth for Christ as an evangelist, there was the ever-present temptation to embellish my testimony. I know I did, yet eventually learned to rest in the reality that my story, simple and to the point, was as powerful as anyone else’s. So many felt they were unremarkable people that a testimony that God loved an unremarkable person like me helped them recognise that God had time for them.
QUESTION: Do you think you’re too ordinary for God?
PRAYER: Lord, thank you that you fill ordinary vessels with extraordinary treasure.
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