Ordinary People

For a moment, let's play a "what if" game. What if you were a member of a large family.....and some important guests were coming to your home for a visit.....and your dad had been instructed to gather all of his children.....and a great honor was to be given to one of the children, but no one knew who the chosen child would be.....and you were doing your ordinary, assigned chores that you did every day.....and you were not invited to be a part of your family's visit with the distinguished guests.

What thoughts might run through my mind if I was not invited to the mysterious gathering? Am I not a part of this family? Does my father love me and think of me as his child? I try so hard to please him! He must not believe that I am very smart or capable of being anything other than ordinary.

When Samuel went to meet with Jesse and his sons, Samuel did not know which son would be anointed as king. God instructed Samuel to go with the promise that, at the right time, He would show Samuel what to do and which son to anoint.

When Jesse's sons started parading in front of Samuel, he started looking for all of the outer attributes that he thought would make a good king. But, God stopped Samuel and told him that he was looking at all of the wrong things.

1 Samuel 16:7 - But the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outer appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."

So Jesse didn't follow his instructions to gather all of his sons. And, Samuel was looking at Jesse's sons' outer appearance as he was searching for a king. And, David was out in the field doing his ordinary job of tending the sheep. Yet, when God called David, his ordinary life was suddenly extraordinary.

David's brothers (and even his father) were surely shocked when David was anointed as king. I can hear some of their comments as David was being brought in from the field. What a waste of time to bring David in! He is just an ordinary shepherd! I am the oldest! I am the strongest! I should be the one! There must be a mistake here!

Have you ever felt left out? Or, like David's brothers, have you ever expected an honor, but found yourself helplessly watching as that honor was presented to another person? Have you ever felt like, no matter what you did, you could not measure up to your parents' expectations of you to be smart or pretty or talented or ______ (you fill in the blank)?

Our Heavenly Father is watching and guiding us on those days when we feel so ordinary. His love for us is not based on physical appearance or talent or any other performance. What a comfort to know that there is nothing we can do to make our Father love us more, and there is nothing we can do to make Him love us less. He reminds us that His invitation is always open to us, and that no one is excluded. This loving Father longs to spend time with us and to comfort us when we feel discouraged and beat up by the world.

May we remember that David did not receive one of the first invitations to the gathering where he would be anointed as king. That shows us what can happen on an ordinary day when an ordinary person is touched and chosen by an extraordinary God!

When others see a shepherd boy,

God may see a king.

Even though your life is filled

with ordinary things.

In just a moment, He can touch you,

And everything will change.

When others see a shepherd boy,

God may see a king.

(Chorus to "Shepherd Boy")

Lord, thank you for loving and choosing ordinary people.