The Good Life

It is important to remember that many of the Bible's great heroes of
faith were, in the world's eyes, nothing special. David was the
youngest of seven brothers. Jeremiah cried a lot. Even Jesus came
from a lineage that, in some respects was impressive but in other
respects was downright shady. God likes to use the weak so that His
strength can be even more magnified.

But it's also important to remember that some of the Bible's great
heroes of faith were, in the world's eyes, quite impressive. Abraham
achieved great wealth and was respected by the contemporary rulers.
Solomon became quite powerful and was known by many for his wisdom and
riches. Paul was the bluest of blue bloods in terms of his heritage
and religious schooling.

And then there was Moses. When God met him in Exodus 3, he was living
a decent life, thanks to his having been rescued by Pharaoh's daughter
and given the best education the Egyptians could offer. And yet God
tells Moses that He is going to rescue His oppressed people, and that
Moses is going to lead the rescue effort. The book of Hebrews puts it
like this:

"By faith, Moses, when grown, refused the privileges of the Egyptian
royal house. He chose a hard life with God's people rather than an
opportunistic soft life of sin with the oppressors. He valued
suffering in the Messiah's camp far greater than Egyptian wealth
because he was looking ahead, anticipating the payoff."

This passage has always challenged me. I too have had the privilege
of a good education, and the opportunities that come with it. As God
spoke to Moses, so I believe He speaks to people like me, inviting us
to a better way even than the good lives we can lead by parlaying our
schooling into posh jobs and posh lifestyles. "A hard life with God's
people" and "suffering in the Messiah's camp" hardly qualifies as the
good life in the world's eyes, but indeed it is the path to true
payoff for people of faith.

In His infinitely wise ways, God sometimes does use those who are
relatively weak in the world to achieve great things. But sometimes
He asks those who are relatively strong in the world to achieve great
things, too. Whether we are weak or strong in the eyes of the world,
may we respond to such a God and such an invitation to do great for
Him.