GLEANINGS from the Daily Office – Who? Me?

GLEANINGS (from the Daily Office) – Who? Me?  – Year Two, Advent 2, Tuesday, December 4, 2015, Amos 7:10-17

“I am no prophet.”

Amos had a call on his life. But it was not one he inherited. It wasn’t in his blood. Not only was he not a prophet, “nor a prophet’s son,” Amos said. Apparently he had not been to prophet school. His resume was agrarian. “I am a herdsman, and a dresser of sycamore trees.” Actually, Amos was rather ordinary. God pulled Amos from his flocks and said go and do this. This is somewhat of a pattern. From Abraham to Moses, from Peter to Timothy, God calls the ordinary for extraordinary work.

We miss this reality sometimes and consequently also miss some opportunities to be involved in life changing work. Rightly we ask, “Who am I?” Such humility is becoming a follower of Jesus. But we should ask another question. “Who am I with Christ at work in me?”

Paul says our redeemed lives are hidden in Christ. That means they are yet to be revealed. Our new life is not bound by the life that preceded it. Perhaps we’ve lived ordinary lives. Perhaps our lives have actually been remarkable but more in terms of our rebellion. No matter. Extraordinarily good things are on the horizon if we can only accept that it is Christ who is changing lives and that he will gladly take our hands and feet to accomplish it. Who? Me? Yes!

–Frodo: “I wish none of this had happened.” Gandalf: “So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.”–