Ordinary People

by Susan Klein on October 06, 2021

“He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to Him, nothing in His appearance that we should desire Him.”

Isaiah 53:2b

Most of us lead similar lives, walking through daily routines, interacting with the same handful of people… We can often question, “Is this all there is, God? Don’t you have something more important for me to do?”

Do you ever wish you were a part of something really significant, something more “out-of-the-ordinary?”

Let me re-acquaint you with someone rather ordinary. He grew up in a small town, was reared in a modest home and lived a fairly quiet life. There was nothing that would make him stand out in a crowd: no George Clooney looks, no special athletic abilities or business accomplishments to speak of. He worked as a common laborer with his dad, rubbed elbows with ordinary folk and never made a name for himself by amassing great wealth or entering into politics. He got up early, worked hard all day, and retired at night, only to do it again the next day. He just lived life.

Sound familiar?

For the first 30 years of His life, our Lord, Jesus Christ, was a human being much like people today. Just as God intended. Though He possessed the power of God and performed miracles in His latter years, He still spent much of His life having people view Him as “just a carpenter’s son,” refusing to believe He was anyone special (Matthew 13:54-56). Despite criticisms, Jesus wasted no opportunities to be Somebody to someone. He spoke encouragingly to the broken-hearted, He ministered to the needy people He encountered, He took time out to just “hang” with other ordinary folk. Nothing and no one were insignificant to Him. He had purpose.

His disciples were ordinary men, too, just as God intended. Peter and John were “uneducated and ordinary men” (Acts 4:13), yet God used them for His purpose. 

Like Peter and John, we, too, have purpose. And like Jesus, we can find significance in the ordinary people and things God has placed before us. We can recognize that He chose us, as we are, to be used in ways that are significant to Him (even if they don’t seem particularly important in our eyes or by the world’s standards). While some may be designated to carry out seemingly bigger tasks or accomplishments, all are part of God’s plan and are equally necessary.

Can you see God at work behind the scenes of each seemingly ordinary day? Do you sense His presence in your mundane moments as well as in your times of accomplishment? Will you recognize that each day is significant and choose to be used by God in your “ordinary-ness”? Comment below.

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