God’s NEVER Used PERFECT People

The best way to find God’s will for our life is by saying “I will”. The first requirement to becoming like Jesus is to deny ourselves. To have no will of our own. We ALL are called to a ministry. Anytime you use the talents, gifts, and abilities God has given you to help somebody else, you’re doing ministry.

We were created to make a contribution with our life, not to just exist and live only for ourselves. God created each one of us uniquely, and shaped us to serve Him, and it’s all because of His mercy.

“I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s MERCY, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper service [ministry]. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s WILL is—His good, pleasing and perfect will” (Rom 12:1-2).

People talk about God’s “second best” for their life. In God’s work, there is NO “second best”. There is only one best, and that’s His best, His first best, His first choice: “The high calling of God in Christ” (Phil 3:14).  If you take a second choice, it’s not really His second best, it’s your best. It’s His will mixed with your will. “Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which does so easily beset us” (Heb 12:1). —That’s anything that keeps us from doing God’s highest and best, that keeps us from being in the center of His will. That’s why we must be single-minded and single-hearted.

The good news is, we don’t have to prove our worth through our work! Maybe you think that the more successful you are, the more valuable you are. But our worth has nothing to do with our work. Our worth is found in the fact that God made us, loves us, and sent Jesus to pay the greatest price to redeem us. Understanding God’s mercy takes you off of the performance track.

The other side of that self “performance coin” is regret or shame. But again, we don’t have to wallow in our mistakes. We’ve all made mistakes. We’ve all sinned (Rom 3:23). God’s mercy makes it possible for us not to dwell on our past. We can repent and turn away from our sinful past. We’re new creatures in Christ. Our past doesn’t have to hold us back from doing the work God has given us to do.

God has never used a perfect person—because there aren’t any, except for Jesus Christ. When you look through the Bible, you’ll find all kinds of people who God used despite their mistakes. Jacob was a chronic liar; Rahab was a prostitute; Jonah was fearful and reluctant; Martha worried a lot; the Samaritan woman had several failed marriages; Peter was impulsive; Moses, David, and Paul were all guilty of murder; yet God used each person in incredible ways.

So there’s nothing that would prevent God from using us. Except perhaps our own will getting in the way. But since we’ve been fully redeemed through God’s great mercy, we’re no longer our own, and we can live out God’s purpose for our life.