Ordinary People, Extraordinary God

Press the play button to watch the video above or press 'more' to read the transcript of the daily devotion below. Please read Acts 5:12-26 (use your own Bible or use the link above to access the in-App Bible).

Recently I read a locked-door mystery thriller. To intrigue his friends, a man sat behind a desk in a room. His lovely assistant double locked the door and loud music played. When it stopped, she unlocked an empty room. Where was the occupant? She again double locked the door, the music played, and when the door was unlocked, there the man was behind the desk. How did they do it?

If we read today’s verses from Acts, we find a locked prison mystery. When the High Priest and his henchman arrived, the prison was guarded and locked, but where were the prisoners? The reading reveals the mystery: God sent his heavenly assistant to free the Apostles, not to fool the High Priest, but to stand in the Temple, to ‘speak to the people the words of this life’. So off they went to carry on the work that God had given them.

Sometimes, when I read passages like this, I feel a bit of an also ran. After all, Peter and the rest were only ordinary people. But Jesus saw something in them that nobody else saw. He taught them and sent His transforming Spirit, empowering them to became the people He always knew they were.

So, what about us? We are learning from Jesus through the power of His Holy Spirit. So why aren’t we powerful like Peter and the rest of the Apostles? After all, like them we are ordinary people in whom Jesus sees what nobody else sees.

He knows what gifts He has given each one of us. And He knows who we really are, so it’s no use envying other people’s gifts, apostles or no. We have our own gifts to claim and use. Yes, I know we are trained to be self-deprecating, but, like the Apostles, we too must prayerfully use the gifts God gave us. Perhaps the Christian life is a process of becoming the person God created, our own particular gifts arising form who we really are. Rather than despising our gifts, let us rejoice that we are God’s loved creation.

Let us pray: Lord, grant us grace and courage to use our gifts and to glorify you. Amen.