Anything but Ordinary

The word ordinary isn’t one that we often view as a compliment or a plus.  Ordinary sounds plain, nondescript, almost a non-entity kind of deal.  Where is the worth in anything ordinary?

Don’t we all want to feel exceptional, valued, or special?  Ordinary just doesn’t cut it.

In the movie Money Ball, Pete, the Yale economics graduate is talking with Billy Beane, the general manager of the Oakland A’s.

Peter Brand: It’s about getting things down to one number. Using the stats the way we read them, we’ll find value in players that no one else can see. People are overlooked for a variety of biased reasons and perceived flaws. Age, appearance, personality. Bill James and mathematics cut straight through that. Billy, of the 20,000 notable players for us to consider, I believe that there is a championship team of twenty-five people that we can afford, because everyone else in baseball undervalues them. Like an island of misfit toys.

Pete describes his idea of a winning team: a group of underappreciated and undervalued individuals.  The world sees them as losers.  Pete sees them as champions.

Jesus looks at ordinary the same way.  Ordinary by the world’s standards means undervalued by God’s standards.  God finds great value in men and women that the world easily overlooks.  Overlooked because of bias or flaws.  Overlooked because of tradition.  Overlooked because of age, appearance, personality, and yes, even gender.

Oh no, not ordinary.  Undervalued in God’s sight…because He knows our hearts.

The disciples–“unschooled, ordinary men” (Acts 4:13)–were the rag-tag-team that God would choose and use to show that it’s

Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the LORD Almighty.” (Zechariah 4:6b)

The disciples then and disciples today?  Yes, we might be overlooked for all kinds of reasons.  But we are anything but ordinary in the eyes of God.

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As a reminder Lenten devotionals, Be Still and Know that I AM God, begin March 5^th.  Won’t you please take a moment to tell someone about SeminaryGal?  I’d appreciate it.  Click the share FB tag or any of the others below and remind your friends to sign up on my Home page. Or click LIKE on Facebook and you can bless others if you’ve found yourself blessed today… in an anything but ordinary way.  Thanks!