The members of the council were amazed when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, for they could see that they were ordinary men with no special training in the Scriptures. They also recognized them as men who had been with Jesus. [Acts 4:13 (NLT)]
The 25th movie featuring James Bond was released last October and, as usual, secret agent 007 defeats an evil villain’s sinister plot to create a new world order. If we were picking someone to save the world from an evil mastermind, the fictional Bond appears to have the right qualifications: suave, sophisticated, brave, patriotic, physically fit, expert in martial arts and marksmanship, observant, intelligent, debonair, good looking, and seemingly invulnerable (at least until this last movie)!
Bond, however, is more than just qualified—he’s well-equipped. The Q-Branch of the UK’s Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) always furnishes him with an assortment of customized vehicles fitted with things like machine guns, smoke and oil dispensers, tracking devices, bulletproof screens and glass, mini-guns in headlights, and ejector seats. Along with his trusty Walther PPK, Q-Branch supplies him with other weaponry and ingenious gadgetry like booby-trapped attaché cases, jet packs, poison pens, homing beacons, a flying submarine, fake fingerprints, and various guns concealed in pens, cigarettes, and ski poles.
God, however, is neither fiction writer nor the British Secret Service and His heroes are much less likely than 007. Take Peter and John, for example—the two unschooled fishermen hardly seem qualified to found a church or preach the gospel. Then there’s the frightened Gideon who’s hiding from the Midianites while threshing wheat when God calls on him. Describing himself as the weakest link in the weakest of families, Gideon doesn’t appear a likely choice to defeat an army. Why would the Jews listen to Moses, a man raised in Pharaoh’s court, was an escaped felon with a speech impediment, and had spent the last forty years in Midian? Esther was just an orphan with a pretty face who married well. Unable to approach the king without risking her life, she hardly seems qualified to save an entire nation from extermination. Then we have the Pharisee Saul, a tentmaker by trade. What qualifications did a man who reviled unclean Gentiles, persecuted Christ’s followers, and wanted to destroy Christianity have to spread the gospel? Hardly as impressive as the fictional James Band, these ordinary people didn’t seem qualified to change the course of history or save anything or anyone and, yet, that’s exactly what they did! The British Secret Service may choose extraordinary men like James Bond for their secret missions, but God picks ordinary people for His and then makes them extraordinary!
Like Q-Branch, however, God equips those He calls. Rather than an Aston Martin, God gave those two Galilean fishermen courage, words, and knowledge enough to amaze even the Sanhedrin. Peter led the Apostles and provided the foundation for the new church while John wrote a gospel, three epistles, and the Book of Revelation. Rather than rocket launchers, God gave Gideon confidence, guidance and a little band of 300 men who overturned an army 400 times their size. Rather than a jet pack, after God equipped Moses with the ability to perform miraculous signs, the words to speak, and Aaron to speak them, the runaway tongue-tied shepherd became the most important figure in Judaism. Because God supplied the beautiful Esther with courage, a shrewd plan, and a series of events that played into that plan, Jews throughout the world celebrate the way she saved them from extermination. Once God supplied Saul with a life-changing conversion and the Holy Spirit, the tentmaker we know as Paul was equipped to spread Christianity to Jews and Gentiles alike.
Like Gideon and the rest of this cast, we have more than our share of faults, limitations, doubt, and fear. Rather than calling the qualified and equipped, however, God qualifies and equips the ones He calls. Rest assured that when God calls us to a task, rather than sophisticated weapons or ingenious gadgets, He will provide us with whatever skills or tools we need.
Each of us may be sure that if God sends us on stony paths He will provide us with strong shoes, and He will not send us out on any journey for which He does not equip us well. [Alexander MacLaren]
Having frequently been told by her elders, “If you get your reward on earth, you won’t get it in heaven!” a friend said it still remains difficult for her to accept praise or compliments. Her experience reminded me of my college roommate Marilyn who, like my friend, received large doses of guilt, shame, hellfire, and brimstone in her strict Christian upbringing. She reminded me of The Nun’s Story and Sister Luke who tried so hard to be a perfect nun who flawlessly kept her vows. But, even when Luke succeeded at following a rule of cloistered life, she repented of the pride she felt at her success. So afraid of inadvertently sinning, the nun even felt guilty when she caught a glimpse of her face reflected in a window! Like her, Marilyn kept taking her spiritual temperature and searching for some hidden transgression for which she should repent. If something was fun or entertaining, Marilyn was sure a hidden sin lurked in it. Both the fictional nun and coed became so focused on their real and imagined spiritual faults that they missed out on the joy of the Lord.
Nowadays, we tend to think of “religion” as the institutionalized system of religious principles, beliefs, ceremonies, and practices to which we’re committed. The religion of which James spoke, however, isn’t limited to things like denomination or synod, liturgy, traditions, rituals, or special observances. Religion, as used by James, is the belief in, service to, and worship of God and encompasses our entire being. The ERV’s translation as “worship,” the NIRV’s as “beliefs and way of life,” the NTE’s and CEB’s of “devotion,” and even the Passion’s translation as “true spirituality” better capture James’ meaning. He is telling us that real religion is our way of life—the way we express our devotion to God hour after hour, day after day, in all that we think, speak, and do.
The church in which I was raised recited a general confession during each service and I sometimes wondered why we bothered to confess. I reasoned that, since God sees everything we do, He already knows what sinners we are and what sins we’ve committed so why bother to tell Him what He already knows? Eventually, I understood that, while God knows what we’ve done wrong, He wants us to know it, too. Until we repent, how can we be redeemed? Until we acknowledge our guilt, how can we be pardoned? We must admit why we need forgiveness before we can accept it.
Every Thursday, my next-door neighbor has a standing two-hour appointment at the beach with a friend who lives about an hour north of here. Although marked on her calendar like a Bible study, committee meeting, doctor’s appointment, or book club, there’s nothing purposeful or especially important about their meeting. As she explained, the two simply meet to “catch up.” Unlike my neighbor, I’m more of a “let’s get down to business” than “let’s chat” type and, when I call or meet with someone, there’s usually a specific purpose for the contact. A few days ago, however, an old friend from our home town called for no reason other than to “catch up.” Neither of us had any important news; we just shared a little of what is going on in our lives. While the conversation accomplished nothing (and took me from my work), it was a much-appreciated blessing.
The best welcome I’ve had at any church was from a man named Luther. Handing us a program, he’d greet us with a broad smile before saying, “Jesus loves you and I do, too!” For several years, Luther greeted everyone who came to that church with his irresistible smile and warm heartfelt words. When age and poor health finally caught up to the nonagenarian, he reluctantly moved away to be closer to family.
