Much of the news has been taken up with the recent passing of Nelson Mandela. In many ways his death has gotten almost the same amount of attention of people around the world as His life did.
Most of us first learned of Nelson Mandela after he was released from prison. His approach to forgive his enemies instead of seeking revenge won him the attention of a worldwide audience. He taught us all how to respond to those that hurt us. His country of South Africa referred to Mandela as their country’s greatest son because of all he did to end apartheid and how he brought a new freedom to every South African regardless of their race. Such achievements resulted in soccer stadiums being filled the other day with ordinary people and world dignitaries alike who came to honour an ordinary man who over his lifetime became great.
Thinking of Nelson Mandela’s life, we are left to wonder, “What is it that makes an ordinary person great? Can anybody become great or is that just something that is reserved for a select few?”
The answer to these questions is found in the fact that in God’s eyes we are all born for greatness. Maybe not always in the way the world sees greatness, but God sees ordinary people as great, as valuable in His eyes. The reason God sees you as great is seen in the fact that He has chosen to surround you. Like the Pacific surrounds a stone on its ocean floor, God chooses to surround your life.
In Hebrews 13:5 God says, “never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” Take hold of this promise like you would grip a life preserver in the middle of a lake. Dwell on this until it consumes your thoughts. God has chosen to be where you are. Another thing that makes ordinary people great is that God is for you. Romans 8:31 says, “if God is for us, who can be against us?”
There can be a lot of things in life that are against you... disease, inflation, corruption and exhaustion. But God is for us... God is for you. Your family and friends may neglect you, but God never will. Also, you may be ordinary but to God you are great because you matter to Him. In fact, what matters to you, matters to God. It’s not just the big things like death, disease and world affairs that matter to God. But it’s you... you matter to God.
Ephesians 1:4 says, “you were chosen before the creation of the world.” You are great because God made you..... Also, you may be ordinary but God has chosen to work in you. God is at work in each of us, whether we believe it or not.
He doesn’t delight in making life hard, but He delights in us becoming all that He has made us to be. We are so important to God that He takes our messes and uses them to somehow bring about something good. God does what is best for us....
But there is one more thing I’d like to mention. It’s something you may find hard to believe. You don’t have to agree with me, but I’d like you to consider it. If you were the only person on earth, everything on the earth would still look the same. The sun would still sink behind the Rockies at sunset and the snow would still sparkle in the sunlight. If you were the only person journeying on earth, God would not reduce its beauty in any way. The reason is, He did it all for you. And He is waiting for you to discover this and be awestruck by the idea. He’s waiting for your jaw to drop and for you to take a step back. In the silence of your mind, God says, “I did it all for you because that’s how important you are to me.”
So the question remains... what makes an ordinary person great? What makes you great is that you are loved and prized highly by God. And that’s enough to make any person great... even an ordinary person like you.
This column is submitted by Tri-Community Baptist Church in Beiseker.
