GOD’S CALL TO THE UNQUALIFIED

If there is one role that people perennially feel underqualified for, being a parent would surely make the list. Indeed, nothing can adequately prepare parents to raise up their children without making mistakes along the way.

So, what does being ‘unqualified’ mean? It refers to not having official recognition as a practitioner of a particular profession or activity through having satisfied the relevant conditions or requirements. If we consider the parental role, how it involves multiple skill sets and yet is never considered paid labor and never shows up in the gross domestic product (GDP) of any economy, we can say that it pretty much fits the bill.

Look at what the apostle Paul had to say: “For consider your calling… not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth.  But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.” (1 Corinthians 1:26-29).

Doesn’t that describe how parents sometimes feel about themselves? You can be forgiven if you thought Paul was speaking exclusively to parents! Paul was in fact addressing the people of Corinth about their perception of those who were called by God. It was a time when comparisons across parties and factions began to surface among the followers of Christ when some thought their leaders were special and better qualified than others. When they started comparing among themselves, they acted as though God needed credentials, titles and global alliances. Today, little has changed!

Paul wasted no time to burst their illusions of pride and haughtiness. Without mincing words, he drove home the point that God had peculiar ways of calling different ones to ministry that was not based on merits alone.

Here’s our own list of God’s peculiarities:

- An unmarried teenaged girl was picked to conceive and parent Jesus instead of a married woman from an affluent and influential family.

- The birth of Jesus was announced to ordinary shepherds, and not to high-profile religious leaders.

- Jesus called ordinary fishermen rather than educated and erudite professors to be His first disciples and spokespersons.

- God sent a very reserved Moses rather than the well-spoken Aaron to approach Pharoah to ask for permission to release the Israelites.

On first impression, these weren’t people who fit the bill, made the cut, or matched societal expectations for the tasks they were given. Of course, Jesus Himself also picked people who were too threatening (Saul), too full of themselves (Peter), too unbecoming (Lazarus), and too promiscuous (Samaritan woman at the well) to be His followers. Most people wouldn’t even associate with them!

Yet we see through the lives of all the above examples that whom God called, He also enabled to step into their calling. Contrary to common belief, God is really not looking for highly-skilled all-rounders to serve His Kingdom missions and assignments. He doesn’t run background checks or rely on the knowledge, skills, abilities (KSA) model before assigning people their given calling.

More often than not, God’s call is something that will take us out of our depth and our comfort zones, not to tease us but to test our obedience and shape our character. As such, we will initially feel very unqualified and unprepared for what the Holy Spirit nudges us to do. There is also no point in resisting God or hiding behind self-directed life purposes because God’s call is impervious to any human weaknesses, inabilities, and even disabilities. And because God’s call will ultimately change us, we will rarely stay unqualified after we step into it.

The question is: How do we the ‘unqualified’ respond to the call of God?

First, we must let Jesus increase and be visible in our lives.

Most of us like to stick to traditions, habits and preferences because it makes us look confident and competent even if they don’t always fit the life situations we find ourselves in. We say we are not tech savvy and so avoid learning the use of collaborative apps for better connection with others. We say we don’t want to impose our opinions on others so we hold back from contributing to meaningful discussions. We say we are very private so we pass up opportunities even when we could speak a love language to someone. In other words, we guard the labels we give ourselves so fiercely that we make it hard for others to recognize any Christlikeness in us.

John 3:30 (NKJV) says, ‘He must increase, I must decrease.’ In essence, it means our dependence on God must be disproportionately greater than our weaknesses and whatever is weighing upon our hearts.

Secondly, Jesus’ strength must overshadow our weaknesses.

Truth be told, no one likes to talk about their weaknesses unless we can use it an excuse to get out of a sticky situation or avoid a difficult task. Rather than asking God to help us overcome pain points in our lives, we pray that He would remove us from people and situations that trigger us. We want an adversity-free life, a faultless image, and a disease-free body. Anything less is a crisis. 

The apostle Paul knew this too well. He pleaded with God to remove a personal issue that was constantly on his mind. Though it clearly did not interfere with or reduce the effectiveness of his ministry, it popped up often enough to distract him. God knew it too well yet His response to Paul’s frantic pleas was simply this: “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.”  (2 Corinthians 12:9).

We face our fears when we honestly tell God what they are. As we do so, His grace will show up in its full power to release us from the paralysis of fear that prevents us from taking action where it matters.

Finally, Jesus must ultimately be given glory.

It doesn’t matter what God calls us to do. There is no need to wonder if it would be spectacularly far-fetched or simply familiar because the point is NEVER on the calling (task) or the called (us) but on the Caller (God).

To take a quote from Jay Haizlip, “God always uses the unqualified to fulfill His commission. This ensures that no man can take credit… we are those who have the testimony that begins with ‘If it had not been for Jesus!’”

Indeed, If it had not been for Jesus! - what would you be today? Where would you be if you took the course of life you thought was the best for you? What state would you find yourself in?

The apostle Paul asserted in 1 Corinthians 1:31b, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord”.

Elinor Young suffered polio as a child and it left her with ‘bad legs’. But she never saw herself less capable of responding to God than anyone else because of her handicap. As a result, she answered God’s call to reach a remote tribe in Indonesia. Polio hit her body, not her aspirations. Her response to God was not a polio response, it was a believer’s response. Her life demonstrates that whom the Lord calls, He will use.

Even if you don’t think God has called you to anything specific, you are still called to be His witness, to be His salt and light, and to intercede not only for your dearest and nearest but also for other people God has placed in your life and upon your heart.

Elinor Young did not confuse what she would like to have (normal legs) with what she needed to do (respond to God’s call). What about you?

This is a summary and reflection based on a virtual BIR Session held on 30 April 2022 with guest speaker, Kelvin Ng.