Lord, Give Us Men- THURSDAY

 LORD, give us men!

I absolutely love this passage in Acts 4.  I love the story in this passage.  I love the drama in this passage.  I love the way the "inteligencia community" of the Sanhedrin was not only astounded by these ordinary fishermen, but quite frankly dumbfounded by what they were seeing.  These men didn't fit their molds for influence or wisdom or intelligence.  Peter and John didn't have the pedigree that these philosophers of theology had.  There was no way that ordinary men could stand toe to toe with them and show or tell them anything new.  They thought Peter and John would quiver in their sandals and be intimidated by the powerful men of the Sanhedrin when they were brought before them.  Man did that council get a surprise.  They were the ones who were shaken, because they were seeing men who defied their norms.  That is what happens to a man when he spends time with Jesus.  His life becomes like Peter and John, which is simply astonishing.

Our Pete has some good points about the characteristics of such men.  He said they "have eternity in their hearts."  They are just "ordinary men who do extraordinary things."  They could even be perceived by the people around them as foolish, but God "uses foolish men to shame the wise; and"Weak men who because of God become strong."  Pete goes on to say that these kinds of "Men who are not, to nullify the men who are."  What does he mean by these words?  Look at Peter and John before the Sanhedrin Council for the answer.  God used what Peter and John did not have to shame those men who had.  Why does this speak so personally to me?

I have shared a little about my upbringing.  I grew up with a sense of feeling disrespected likely because my father was a laborer.  He was not a professional.  We were not even "middle class," and I say that accurately for in the town I lived in it was as "class distinct" as any cast system in India could be.  Maybe it was my own take on things?  I get this.  But there was an attitude of superiority that many kids in my "class" felt against us, and this created some damage by putting us in "our place."  I look back now and see that it was tied to the old money folks and their families who kept this distinction going.  They are all dead now, and likely the class distinctions that we felt.  Glad it is gone, for I will tell you that you will never find Jesus in this attitude, even though they can fund the building of museums, hospitals and churches.  This attitude is damaging to all, even those who think they have life figured out.  It sure damaged the Sanhedrin.

I was able to rise out of my circumstances with education and perseverance to change my economic circumstances.  But I never left that "poor boy from Mississippi" perspective of myself until I began seeing how Jesus was pulling for men like me.  This is why the drama that we read in Acts 4 touches me so deeply.  I am a man like Peter and John.  I know where they came from for I came from similar circumstances.  I know the attitudes they were facing that day for I faced them as well.  I know it would have been so easy to be intimidated by those "superior" people.  That is the "superiority" projection that I mentioned.  There had to be an interior life change that had transformed so much about Peter and John, especially their self-worth to be able to stand there that day and stand out as they did.  I know that this change could not have happened by their own strategies and it had to be because Jesus made them wise and courageous.  Here is why I say this:  I grew into manhood with a motivation to get similar arrogant voices that lingered in my thoughts out of me by "showing them."  I worked hard in athletics and business and church and whatever, to run from those voices and prove them wrong.  In doing so, I discovered how futile my effort was, for those negative voices of my past owned me and wouldn't let me go.  I could never leave being that poor kid from Mississippi even though I had risen from my circumstances until Jesus told me to own who I am, and to not run from it anymore.  He taught me instead to embrace it.  This changed everything for me.

Pete said that the men God is raising up are, "Men known more for their availability than for their ability. And men who choose to decrease that You might increase."  These words share a great truth that has changed my life.  I have come to understand that I now want to never leave being that poor boy from Mississippi anymore. I have come to embrace my ordinariness and celebrate being an ordinary guy who God can use to do extraordinary things.  He has proven this to me.  I see the truth of how important this is.  I see a great advantage over those with wealth, or prestige, or position, or power.  It is a great blessing.  It is a great advantage, for I know I have nothing to give but Jesus.  I have no conflict in my perspective or interest that people need me to change their life.  I know that even the best of people and the most successful of people have nothing to give if they do not have Jesus.  The ordinary guy who simply walks with Jesus is now my hero.  This is the man, like Peter and John, who God can use greatly.  These are also the kinds of men I want to share my life with and be under their influence.  This is the kind of man I aspire to be.  I aspire to be ordinary so that Christ can be shown through my life as extra-ordinary.  That is why I pray all the time, "Lord, Give Me Men Like This, for I want to be like them."