5 "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
before you were born I set you apart;
I appointed you as a prophet to the nations."
6 "Ah, Sovereign LORD," I said, "I do not know how to speak; I am only a child."
7 But the LORD said to me, "Do not say, `I am only a child.' You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. 8 Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you," declares the LORD. Jeremiah1:4-8
I can well identify with Jeremiah. In the face of the tasks that my life and calling place in front of me, I often want to run away and hide behind feelings of fear and inadequacy. Jeremiah's self-description is both cause and cure of his insecurity.
God is incensed at Jeremiah's self-degrading reply. There are a couple of reasons why Jeremiah is wrong:
1. Jeremiah is purpose-made for His life - God thought hard before He even picked up the clay. Jeremiah and you and I are not accidental and our gifts and talents are not incidental. There is no-one as well-suited to my life task as I am.
2. God has _called_ us to our life's task. Jeremiah was called to be a prophet to the nations. We are called by God to be who we are (accountants, business-people, pastors, teachers, parents, spouses.) Our lives have meaning and significance in the light of this calling.
3. Children who are happy and a blessing are children who are secure and comfortable in their parents' love. Jeremiah must learn to be a secure child who will branch out into his Father's will for him. He can be bold, courageous, and safe in the love of his heavenly Father. The good thing about children is that they know who their Father is. There is no reason for us to be insecure! I do not have to be afraid!!!
There are therefore two options:
- Childishness which embodies all the insecurities and weakness of youth and concentrates on me.
- Child-likeness which embraces my creation-purpose and value and concentrates on the provision of my Father.
(Adapted from a dev I sent out in 2004 - and it's still true!)
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Theo Groeneveld theo@emmanuel.org.za
You can see past EmmDevs at http://emmdev.blogspot.com/
