Read: Hebrews 11:23-31
By faith the people crossed the Red Sea as on dry land. (v. 29)
Sometimes I look around at the people in the church and think, what a strange group of people we are! First, I realize that with some people I have almost nothing in common except that we worship in the same place. And, second, as a group and as individuals we sometimes make some colossal mistakes!
But then I think about the people in God’s story. When I was a child, I thought the Bible was a story of heroes—people whom we could follow because they were such great people. But as I got older and started reading closer, I realized that many of the biggest names in the Bible were some pretty shady characters! God chose Moses to lead his people to freedom even though he had murdered a man. Rahab is a hero for welcoming the Israelite spies, helping them to defeat their enemies, but she was a prostitute. David, the greatest king of Israel, took another man’s wife and then had that man killed to cover it up.
God doesn’t use people because they’re perfect. God takes ordinary people like you and me and does amazing things through them despite some pretty big mess-ups. You don’t have to have it all together to be a part of God’s family. God will use you to do amazing things if you trust him and obey. We don’t have to be perfect. And we don’t have to expect everyone else to be either.
As you pray, ask God to use you despite your mistakes and help you not to judge other’s mistakes.
About the Author
Jennifer Petersen is an ordained minister in the Reformed Church in America.
