Crooked Halos
But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise,
and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty.
(1 Corinthians 1:27 NKJV)
If you ever stop and wonder if God can use you with all the mistakes and missteps in your life, simply go look at the people He used in the Bible. It will give you great comfort. There is not a straight halo amongst them. In fact, good luck finding a halo at all.
Abraham started out life worshipping idols. God built a nation on him.
Jacob was a liar and a deceiver. His descendants became the twelve tribes of Israel.
Moses murdered an Egyptian. God used him to lead His people to the Promised Land.
Rahab was a harlot, but if you read the genealogy in Matthew 1, she shows up as Christ’s great, great (not sure how many greats) grandmother. (Those genealogies make interesting reading when you see who God thought was good enough to be used to bring His Son into the world).
David committed adultery and arranged the death of an innocent man. God refers to him as a man after His own heart.
Jephthah was the son of a harlot, not an auspicious start in life. God used him as one of the judges of Israel.
Jonah hopped onto a ship going in the opposite direction to where God wanted him to be (apparently, he thought God might not notice) and landed in a whale. Yet God still used him to prophesy to Nineveh and the nation was saved.
Elijah ran away, plopped down next to a stream, threw a pity party, and asked God to kill him. God had other plans. Instead, Elijah never saw death and went to heaven in a chariot of fire.
John Mark gave up in the mission field and caused a major split between Paul and Barnabas. Barnabas wanted to give him a second chance; Paul was having none of it. Barnabas was proved right. John Mark went on to serve Christ and a gospel bears his name.
Matthew was a tax collector who ripped off his own people. He became an apostle.
Paul murdered God’s people. Then he ran head-first into Christ on the road to Damascus. He wrote two-thirds of the New Testament.
Peter denied the Lord three times and was restored. Although I suspect every time he heard a rooster crow he probably twitched. Jesus even came to him and served him breakfast on the beach.
There are so many people who can be added to the list, but you get the drift. God uses damaged, battle-scarred people to further his works. Because in the end it is about Him, not you.
