The Surprising, Transforming Call of Christ
11/18 Reading Portions: 1 Chronicles 11-12; Hebrews 13; Amos 7; Luke 2
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11/18 Reading Portions: 1 Chronicles 11-12; Hebrews 13; Amos 7; Luke 2
Amos 7:14
“I was no prophet, nor a prophet’s son, but I was a herdsman and a dresser of sycamore figs.”
TRANSFORMATION
Amos, a farmer from the land of Judah, was sent by God to the northern kingdom of Israel, to Bethel in particular, and he prophesied against the idolatry so rampant among the people there. Rustic and humble in speech, yet regal and direct in ministering God’s Word, the Holy Spirit took a herdsman of Tekoa and transformed him into a holy messenger of Yehovah God. Even in this small detail, there is a prophetic subtlety which reflects the life and ministry of Jesus, who was a simple carpenter’s son in Nazareth, yet at the same time, was the supreme and glorious Messiah, the Son of the Most High God.
The surprising, transforming work of Jesus Christ has been seen in others He has called into service. Moses was a prince in Pharaoh’s court, yet God sent him to be a prophet and deliverer. David was a simple shepherd’s son whom God anointed as king over His people. Simon was a faltering fisherman in Galilee who became Peter, the faithful shepherd to the Jews. Luke, an ancient medical physician, was called as an aid to a mighty preacher and apostle. Saul, a tentmaker of Tarsus, became Paul, a teacher of the gospel and apostle to the gentiles.
Surely, not every life saved by God’s grace has such a dramatic transformation on the surface like those mentioned above. Yet those with such vivid and significant changes, if viewed through Christ’s eyes, shows us that every life is significantly changed and surprisingly transformed by God’s amazing gospel truth (2 Cor 5:17). There’s no detail in the life of the redeemed soul that is meaningless or insignificant… for its heavenly value is not measured in the amount of change, but instead, by the Christ who has changed the details of our lives by calling us out of darkness and into His marvelous light (1 Pet 2:9). Hallelujah! What a Savior!
Christ’s gospel is transforming lives
In every detail giv’n;
For, by God’s Word, we grow and thrive
As if we liv’d in heav’n.