Ordinary People

by Macy Johnson

“But we have this treasure in jars of clay

to show that this all-surpassing power

is from God and not from us.”

(2 Corinthians 4:7 NIV)

 

Robert Redford won an academy award for directing the 1980 film, Ordinary People. It is about a typical family’s struggle with death and reminds the viewer no one is immune from the pain of everyday life. I am reminded daily my frame is frail. My first thought every morning is to give my heavenly Father my body for His use, to be a page in His Word. I am an ordinary messenger.

 

God’s Word is full of ordinary messengers with an extraordinary message. Rahab, a prostitute in Jericho, kept the Israelite spies safe and was lifted into the lineage of David and ultimately Christ. Mary was an unwed, small-town girl, pregnant with the Son of God. The disciple Peter was a bold and abrasive fisherman. The apostle Paul tortured and murdered Christians. All were created and used by God in His kingdom for His purposes.

 

Joseph’s life points directly to Christ. He was honored by his father, Jacob, and despised by his brothers. They sold him as a slave. He was carted to Egypt, falsely accused of a crime, and thrown in prison. After many years of suffering, Joseph was raised to the second-highest ruling position in the land of Egypt. Jesus was tortured and killed on a cross as our sacrificial Lamb. He rules today in heaven at the right hand of God the Father.

 

I believe if we endure the pain and suffering of this life as God’s ordinary, yet extraordinary people, we will be raised with Christ to spend eternity with Him.

 

I will humble myself and allow others to see the power of Jesus in me today. I hope you will, too!