Doug Van Pelt

And God Laughed... (I bet)

In the seventh month all the people of Israel assembled as one man in the square before the Water Gate. Ezra read the law to them. The people all wept as the law was being read, until they were rebuked: "This day is sacred to the Lord your God. Do not mourn or weep."

The people were instructed to party -- to celebrate by eating choice food and sweet drinks and by sharing and preparing food for those that had none. This brought them all great joy. They also understood that they were to live in booths during the feast of the seventh month. I can imagine the young ones (especially the boys) getting really excited about this tradition. The whole family, basically, lived in tents for awhile. I can remember the youthful excitement over stuff like that. I bet it made God smile. He probably laughed at the joy amongst His people at that time.

A few chapters later, in Esther 4, a different scenerio is unfolding. Mordecai is mourning, because he has heard of the plot to eliminate the Jews. His cousin, Esther, was a beautiful woman who had been made Queen. Many of you have heard the story: about how Esther heard about Mordecai's "fuss" and tried to get him to settle down; but Mordecai persuaded her to join his cause. The famous line, "for such a time as this" comes from this story. He told her, "And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?" Turns out she was used by God for a specific reason at a specific time. God used her to deliver His people once again. That is one of the coolest feelings in the world -- to believe that God has you in a certain place and He uses you.

Now, in our way of thinking; and in our experience, "being used" is a negative thing. But being used by God brings us great joy. Why? It must be because He is so great and it's just amazing to be near Him and communicate with Him. If my friends used me or my position to get a free cd or shirt or into a show or something, I could resent that. If my Heavenly Friend used me spread His love or bring His mercy or justice to this place, then I couldn't be happier. I guess one is perceived as meating another's selfish end; while God's use of us achieves a beautiful, sharing, giving, and unselfish end. God is good, and being in His favor brings great delight. And what's so wonderful about His love is that He extends it to us -- the undeserving, the rejected, the loser, the uncool as well as the celebrity and the cool.

Posted by Doug Van Pelt at March 28, 2005 08:29 AM