Of let, I’ve been receiving a lot of strong rebukes from God on my heart posture after observing other people’s Christian journey.
I’ve been given the grace by God these days to sit and discuss different points of view of what it really means to be a Christ follower with people from different walks of life
While some may have the same understanding that I do, which is, as you accept Christ, He now lives in you, meaning ,He becomes greater while you become less “John 3v30”, others may think otherwise.
His rebuke mostly comes from my clouded judgement of how Christ thinks of such people as I subconsciously place them in the “unwanted by Christ group” without realizing that as a Christian community
One of the most important responsibilities (first being that we are to peruse God) is calling people back into our savior’s presence
We become so lost in our Christian pride that we sometimes forget that it’s only through His grace that we are able to walk in freedom because He defeated the shackles of the enemy that were supposed to be placed on us.
We have become so consumed in the “it’s me first” culture that we often times fail to put into perspective
That if Jesus had that some mentality, how much of our own free will were we going to have to even choose peace, being that we would still be trapped in the wages of sin that lead to death.
But what an amazing God we serve, that even in our selfish pursuits He still remains selfless and gladly extends His grace towards us every time we need it even in ways that we find ourselves wrongly expressing
To others what is really means to be a Christian, He gently guides us back in right standing.
While in my prayer closet a question quickly dropped in my Spirit and I felt the need to ask God as to why He uses not so perfect people in the bible
I mean there isn’t a person’s story in the bible written (expect Jesus of course) who didn’t have a past that God needed to redeem them from
And He doesn’t stop with people in the bible, till this day when we listen to Christian leaders or influencers that we look up to
No one had it easy in their journey, like them we all have a common story of “broken person encounters Jesus”
Perhaps you are also currently sitting on this question like the way I was before receiving revelation from Christ
And so far, here are the answers that I got from Him on why He uses broken people
For His glory to shine– like I mentioned, not one Christ follower has ever walked this earth without needing God to redeem them from their sins
In the book of Hebrews 1 vs 3 NIV the bible says that “The son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.”
When we accept Jesus as our personal Lord and savior, His existence begins to shine through us, all that we do and say will now have to be a representation of His kingdom.
God all the time uses people with a past that is unbelievable to man’s ears often times, so it is evident that it is only through Him that things were able to turn around and move in accordance to His purpose
It will be very unwise for any believer to go be given a second chance by God and not give Him all the glory He deserves
For the chosen to humble themselves– The bible says in Ephesians 2vs 8-9 NIV “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith and this is not for yourselves, it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast”
This simply reminds us that there is no amount of “good works” that man can do on this earth that will earn them salvation with God
We ought to Humble ourselves especially as believers because no matter how different all our walks in sin have been and the different ways, we tried to save ourselves, we can all agree that
It is only God through the blood of His Lamb Jesus that can bring true freedom and restoration upon our lives
I think we can all agree that there is so much humility that comes with being born again because it is only then that we realize whose power is greater on this earth
And it is only then that we realize that indeed He is greater and we ought to become lesser in order to see true testament of His power
Relatability– one of the true freedoms and enjoyment that comes with reading the bible is that there is at least a single person in there that we can relate to
From what it feels like to leave everything we know and follow His calling (the apostles) to bareness (Hannah, Sarah and Elizabeth) to a sudden loss of everything (the story of Job) you name it
And He still does it today. God still uses people with past stories that we can relate to
why?
Because He wants us to know that there isn’t anyone alive today that He isn’t able to use to preach the gospel and encourage others to pursue His kingdom
And also, because God is no respecter of persons, who man may see as unworthy to be used is exactly who He is looking for.
1 Samuel 16 vs 7 “The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart”
So, if you feel in your heart that God is calling you into something great but you feel ashamed of the things you have done in the past
This is your confirmation to take courage and step into your calling now, remember, it is not what man says about you that matters, it is about what God says about you through His word and what He wants to accomplish here on this earth through your life
For others to boost their confidence in Him- we all come to know the name of God through other people
One of the most effective always that really draws us to know the true nature of God is by hearing other people’s testimonies
Maybe the number one reason why God uses a person with a shameful past to reveal Jesus to us is
Because it creates in us a mind to know that indeed He is a gracious father who loves and adores anyone regardless of their former life
It makes others know that indeed no one is more special in His eyes and what He needs from us is complete surrender of our soul to His will
It is even greater to experience first hand a situation where we know someone who was living in an alternate lifestyle come to Christ and changes their whole lifestyle in front of our very eyes
It is my hope that someone reading this feeling like there is no hope for their life to be used by God because of the things they have done in the past to realize that
God is only waiting for you to say yes to His will and surrender all your doubts and questions to Him, He knows that you are scared because you feel like people will not take you seriously
But God also knows all the ways that He can transform your life and use your abilities to shine a light in this world
Remember, it is not you that is in control of everything now, it is the Holy Spirit that now lives in you that will give you direction and the tools that you will need
So, let this serve as confirmation to take a leap of faith and see the amazing works that God will accomplish through you
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