REFLECTIONS
September 26, 2010
(From the Archives of September 18, 2005)
 
 
Who am I that I should go
Exodus 3:11
 
 
Seeing a Winner
 
The third chapter of Exodus is one of the Bible’s most captivating Biblical chapters. It is the Burning Bush chapter where God calls Moses to lead the Israelites from slavery. Re-read the story. It actually begins at Exodus 2:11 and goes through 4:20. 
The burning bush is itself an interesting aspect of the story because God is often associated with fire and smoke, but of equal interest is how Moses underrates himself for the job. Moses saw himself as a displaced Jew with poor speaking skills and with an affinity for aggression as evidenced by a murder he committed. He saw himself worthy of no greater position than tending sheep for his father-in-law in a remote part of the world where he could live unseen. By attending to his failings, Moses saw himself as a loser. 
Self deprecation is a tendency that most of us have, but we also tend to assess the deficiencies of others. Our intentions are otherwise, but I wonder if our education systems, employee evaluation systems, and even our “home systems” are making losers by placing too much emphasis on admonishing shortcomings and too little energy on strengthening giftedness? Let’s look at how God assessed Moses.
God looked past low self esteem, speech impediments and even murder. He looked beyond the shortcomings. In Moses, God saw an humble man who championed the underdog. He saw the passion for rescuing an abused Israelite even as Moses crossed the line by murdering the aggressor. God saw Moses standing for the wronged Hebrew in a fight between fellow countrymen; and God saw Moses liberating some Midianite sisters from a group of antagonistic shepherds. In Moses God was seeing a winner.
God called Moses to an opportunity that fit his giftedness. Then God supported him by providing insights into the opportunity and what he could expect to encounter; by providing answers to challenging questions; by teaching him to use tools to exercise the authority granted him; and by surrounding him with people to shore up his limitations—and best of all was God’s pledge, “I will be with you.” 
God made Moses into a winner even with all of his shortcomings. And even with all of our shortcomings, Jesus makes us winners too. He has gifted each of us in unique ways; He has given us the insights and the tools we need through the Holy Spirit; He has provided us with a support system through our friends, family and coworkers—and best of all is his pledge, “and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."
 
“You are the light of the world.”
RichardÌ


Click here for Printer Friendly Version