The EXTRA in Our Ordinary

When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. (Acts 4:13)

If you made a list of extraordinary people, whose names would you put there?  What makes them extraordinary?  Are they famous?  Do they possess special talents or superior intellect?  Did they accomplish something extraordinary in their life, or do they simply live life in extraordinary ways?

The apostles, Peter and John, wouldn’t have been on anyone’s extraordinary list.  They were rough, uneducated, hardworking men when Jesus called them in all their ordinariness to follow him.  They walked with him, ate with him, worshipped with him.  He taught them and they listened as he taught others.  They heard him pray, watched how justly he treated every man, woman and child, and shared in his miracles.  They were with him on his best days…and his worst.    

When Peter and John were arrested and taken before Jerusalem’s religious elite they looked like ordinary men on the outside, but on the inside they were seasoned Christians; faithful, strong and courageous.

God calls ordinary people to follow him, knowing we can’t do any out-of-the-ordinary thing without Him.  

Father God, thank you for being the EXTRA in our ordinary.  Give us courage to be used by you in extraordinary ways.  Through Christ,

amen.

Sandra Milholland

Abilene, Texas