For Such A Time As This

Today I was reading the selected passages from The One Year Bible Online, and today's reading in the OT was from the book of Esther. I was reminded how great of a story the book of Esther really is. A Hebrew girl just happens to be selected out of all the women in the kingdom to be a queen. Mordecai just happens to overhear a plot to assassinate the king. Haman just happens to think that the king is about to give him honor, when really it's for the one person he hates more than anyone, Mordecai. Esther just happens to be at the right place at the right time to save her people from extermination.

For such a time as this. A young Hebrew woman courageously goes before the king and in the face of death saves the Hebrews. An egotistical leader whose life revolves around himself attempts to destroy a nation due to his anger towards one person and ends up dying in shame and dishonor. We need stories like these because they remind us of several things: that each one of us at certain times in our lives make decisions that affect more people than we realize; that God works in all situations and in all of our stories to bring about His plans and His desires; that we can have everything a person could want (just like Haman) and yet live our lives in misery because of one person; that one person can make a difference; that challenging another Christian to get out of their comfort zone and do what God wants them to do has its rewards; and to throw a huge party when we see God's faithfulness acted out in the lives of His people.

With Esther fresh on my mind, I read through the NT selected reading, which was 1 Corinthians 12. This passage talks about the body of Christ and how each person is gifted with different gifts. Each part of the body has its own unique way of contributing to the whole body. That everyone usually desires at some point to be the most important part of the body, yet each part has its own great importance. It reminds me of a story I read recently about Winston Churchill. During World War II, there was a time where England was having a hard time keeping men working in the coal mines. Many wanted to give up their dirty, thankless jobs in the dangerous mines to join the military, where they would be revered and honored as heroes. Yet their work was critical to the success of the war. Without coal, England would be in trouble in the war.

"So the prime minister faced thousands of coal miners one day and told them of their importance to the war effort, how their role could make or break the goal of maintaining England's freedom. Churchill painted a picture of what it would be like when the war ended, of the grand parade that would honor the people who fought the war. First would come the sailors of the navy...next would come the best and brightest of Britain, the pilots of the Royal Air Force...following them would be the soldiers who had fought at Dunkirk. Then last of all would come the dust-covered men in miners' caps. And churchill indicated that someone from the crowd might say, 'And where were you during the critical days of the struggle?' And the voices of ten thousand men would respond, 'We were deep in the earth with our faces to the coal.'" (From "The 17 Indisputable Laws Of Teamwork" by John Maxwell)

The miners returned to their inglorious work, reminded of the huge role that they played in the war. If God could use Esther, whose gift was really just being a beautiful woman (a courageous beautiful woman at that), can't he use each one of us, no matter what our gifts are, if we are willing to be used "for such a time as this", to change the world?

Perhaps I can give you an impetus to use your gifts in a certain area. I was reminded as I was reading 1 Corinthians 12 of the plight of some of our fellow Christians in other parts of the world who are being persecuted for their faith. 1 Corinthians 12:26 says "when one member suffers, all suffer together." Last year, I had the opportunity to put together an entire service devoted to the persecuted church. As a result I read a ton of information from periodicals, internet web sites, and more. It broke my heart to see the amount of suffering and persecution Christians in other parts of the world face. Let's make a commitment this year to be at least in prayer for the persecuted church. If you want to do something more and use your gifts "for such a time as this" to help our fellow "body parts", a good place to start would be this website, which will give you some links and resources.