As I look over the lives of the faithful followers of God it
becomes apparent that there are certain characteristics that stand out as
fundamental. One in particular seems to
be at the core: they live lives that demand an explanation. Whether it was Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego
quizzed by the disbelief of the Babylonian king who asked, “What god is there
who can deliver you out of my hands?” (Daniel 3:15). Whether it be Esther who
braved political incorrectness and even a death sentence to save her people
which shocked Ahasuerus into asking, “What is troubling you, Queen Esther? And what is your request?” (Esther 5:3) or
whether it be Paul who, even though he faced impending death, refused prophetic
advice and the petitions of confused locals travelling to Jerusalem in spite of
good reason to stay (Acts 21:10-14).
These men and women of faith were constantly in the throes of danger,
yet they persisted in living lives that left people stunned in their wake.
A
shepherd boy defeated a giant warrior, a murderer overcame the Egyptian army, a
stubborn fisherman refused to stop speaking in the name of his teacher. Over and over again the Biblical greats did
the impossible because they had one binding character trait: faith. There is one other common feature I forgot to
mention, however: these were common folks like you and me. Yes, David was a king but he was born a
shepherd. Yes, Esther was a queen but
that was due to her favorable looks and by no means her lineage. Yes, Moses was raised a prince but he was an
outcast in the desert when faith appeared.
The principle is this: it doesn’t matter if you are royal or
common. The overriding evidence points
to the fact that God is looking towards our hearts and not our bloodlines. He is looking towards our potential and not
our titles. He is looking at our
opportunities and not our religious clout.
Sometimes
I feel like we fail to have faith because people will say to us, “Why are you
doing that?” “Don’t you know that is just
a pipe dream?” “Don’t you realize that what you believe is impossible?” “Why
now?” “Why her?” “Why not?” So
what? That is a good thing. It sets you apart and forces you to have to
answer a few of their questions. Where
there are questions, we as Christians have an awesome opportunity to give
answers. Very rarely is evangelism so
easy. Seldom would someone want you to walk up to
them cold and start telling them about your “Lord and Savior” but when they
ask, they are opening a door. To their
surprise they have walked right in to your testimony. But how will they ask if you are not doing
the ask-worthy? Why would they ask if
you behave just like them? Why would
they notice if you were swimming downstream with the rest?
Do
something today that makes people ask you “Why?” Then be prepared to let them know you are
standing on the shoulders of giants as you walk in the faith that God makes
available to all of His children; royal and common. If you are not living a life that others
question, are you really living on faith at all? And if you are not living on faith, are you
really so different from the rest of the world?
You are
unique and awesome and wonderful and incredible. Go be that today and see if others don’t ask
how you do it. If that doesn’t get
anybody to enquire… I guess you could just get a neck tattoo or something.
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