Wise and Powerful in God

"Consider your own calling, brothers and sisters. Not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful... God chose the lowly and despised of the world, those who count for nothing, to reduce to nothing those who are something, so that no human being might boast before God." 1Cor 1:26-28

It can be difficult to acknowledge and honor God if we were born to privilege, like most of us from the so called Developed World. We take clean water, adequate food, housing and health care for granted. It is only when these gifts are not in place that we realize how fortunate we are and learn not to complain too loudly about our poorly functioning systems but to pray in gratitude for all we do have.

St Paul warns his disciples to take nothing for granted and because his converts were, for the most part, from the underclass, they already knew what it meant to be humble. Dependent on the charity of the rich, it made perfect sense to them when Paul taught them that God was "rich" beyond their dreams and always ready to help them spiritually.

It is important to admit each day how dependent on God we are. Some days this is easy. Because we know that God is the source of all life, and the one without whom we cannot live, we offer a simple prayer to begin our day and let God take us where we need to be. At other times, for St Paul and all of us, it is more difficult. We wrestle with God trying to understand what God wants, but no matter how we feel, allowing God to be with us in the good as well as the painful moments is the key to an authentic Christian life.

Today, humbly thank God for all that is.

How has God led you through the dark and murky waters of life?