“And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called
unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said,
Here am I.” – Exodus 3:4
Typically, the ordinary, average, and mundane will not attracted
the attention of the masses. People
don’t travel thousands of miles to see a stop sign; but they will to see the
Northern Lights. You’re not going to pay
hundreds of dollars to visit a shopping mall, but you might to visit the Grand
Canyon. These things are extraordinary,
they were created that way; but what if you were not? What if you don’t feel extraordinary? Does God have any use for those of us with
whom the world would just soon ignore? In
a word, Yes.
Perhaps nothing is more ordinary than a bush; especially in the
wilderness. A bush has no particular
amiable qualities nor is it what you would call majestic or stunning. It is the mascot of ordinary and average. At the very best a bush is there to accent or
edifier something else; like a house or an office building. When you first begin reading in Genesis
chapter three you find that Moses (the eventual leader of the Jews) is living
his everyday life. At this point he has
settled down, married, and is working for his father in law tending sheep. One particular day, whilst going about his
day to day business, he comes across something that is supposed to be ordinary,
behaving extraordinary. It is a bush on fire,
yet the fire does not consume the bush.
The bush just burns and burns.
This extraordinary sight catches his attention and draws him out of his
day to day “task list” (if you will).
Then, the Lord calls to him out of the flaming bush. God drew him, called him, and instructed him through
the use of the ordinary bush. That which
was created ordinary was ordained by fire to be extraordinary; for God’s
glory.
We live in a busy age, and with all the devices of distraction
offered it would seem that the competition for attention has never been
higher. We ask ourselves (I hope) how do
we reach our co-worker, friend, neighbor, etc.?
How do we witness in the day to day and get their attention? As a burning bush. Whether or not we were created extraordinary
means nothing, God can take the essence of ordinary and make something
extraordinary out of it. When you are
consumed with the fire of God for God, and it engulfs your life: your
lifestyle, speech, and behavior will become a catalyst where God can speak and
draw men and women to himself. It was
the ordinary behaving extraordinary that jerked Moses out of the fog of living
and caused him to really listen to God. When
you love those that curse you, bless God in times of trouble, and consistently
live the sold out, sanctified, Christian life. That is when and where God can
speak.
God, help us to remember that you are on the throne of all
creation, and you can make something beautiful out of our lives. Lord ignite us with an everlasting fire within
that will allow you to call to the hearts of men and women. Let us live, preach, and testify of a: real,
genuine, extraordinary salvation that is the government of our lives and the
hope of our soul; and may the glory and righteousness of your Son Jesus consume
us to make us lights unto the world, a vessel from which you can speak. Father help us to live and love with an extraordinary
salvation within, the salvation; your son Jesus Christ.
