You Never Know Who God Is Gonna Use

 

It's interesting when a peripheral character becomes a pivotal part of the story.

According to The Demon of Unrest by Erik Larson, Abraham Lincoln made a detour on his train trip from Illinois to the White House. He had been elected President and was moving his family to the nation's capital, but there was an actor...well-respected for his tragic roles...performing in a production of The Apostate at a theater in Albany, and Lincoln wanted to see the show.

That event would have been hardly memorable except that the actor's name was John Wilkes Booth, who would assassinate President Lincoln 50 months later.

The Law & Order "cha-chung" that sounded in my head when I read that is similar to the ominous feeling in any reenactment of the gospel story whenever Judas Iscariot is introduced. But when Judas became one of the twelve, he was just another guy wanting to learn from Jesus. There was nothing about him that immediately said "This guy's going to be a traitor."

In the same way, but in a positive light, there are people...and animals, even...scattered throughout Scripture who are simply living their lives but end up being important parts of God's plan.

Rich Mullins has a song that talks about that. (Oh...THERE'S a big surprise.)

Now Balaam, he had a donkey

Who was gentle and true and kind

And the donkey saw an angel with a sword

So he slipped old Balaam past him

And when he done it three times

Well, Balaam got so mad he beat the donkey

And so the Lord

Well, he gave the donkey language

And the donkey plainly brayed,

"Well, there's an angel about to strike you from the path"

Then old Balaam's eyes were opened

And he realized he'd been saved

By his donkey from the angel of God's wrath

And a princess pulled a baby out of the water

He was hidden in the rushes

Sleeping in a basket made of reeds

And you never know who God is gonna use

A princess or a baby

Or maybe even you or me

Now Esther, she was a beauty

Who was pleasing to a man

And the man that she was pleasing was a king

But her people's lives were threatened

By some wicked men's plans

Nobody knew just how the lord was gonna intervene

Well, Mordecai her uncle, he was honest but he was smart

And he knew that Esther's beauty was a gift

He said, "Maybe you could cook some supper

Maybe you could change a king's heart

Who knows but what you come into the world

For such a time as this"

And a princess pulled a baby out of the water . . .

There was Miriam a-dancing

And there was Jubal with a harp

There was poor blind Samson

Even Pontius Pilate played a part

And a princess pulled a baby out of the water

He was hidden in the rushes

Sleeping in a basket made of reeds

And you never know who God is gonna use

A princess or a baby

Or maybe even you or me

c.1991 BMG Songs,Inc. (ASCAP)

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Truth is...You just may think you're a minor character in God's story; that there's nothing outstanding about you that would say, "This person's going to make a difference."

Well...

You just may be wrong.