by
Tery Maine
|
I was sitting in church a few weeks ago and the pastor was speaking from I Corinthians 1.28 and I noticed something I had never noticed before. The verse reads: "And base things of the world and things which are despised , hath God chosen." All of a sudden my eyes focused on the words "things which are despised." Something clicked, but to be sure I looked up the word in the Greek New Testament. The word is exoutheneneo and it means "to be made of no account, to be condemned, to be utterly despised."
So, God specifically has chosen those who are condemned by others, who have been treated as nothing, who have been utterly despised to show forth his glory in the world. That is exactly what this verse is saying.
I don't know about you but I have been "utterly despised" in my life. In high school I was beaten frequently, verbally assaulted daily and was even raped because I didn't quite fit in with the other guys. I have been treated as nothing. Some people I have to do business with continue to use the masculine pronoun referring to me. I have been condemned by well intended Christians who have confused my gender dysphoria with sexual promiscuity.
So, how in the world can I expect to be used of God when I am carrying that kind of baggage around with me. Of course, the how is simple. I let go of my own self and let God work through me to do his own good will. But, that is perhaps begging the question how is it that my being despised makes me a perfect tool for the master's hand. I think there are three ways this works.
1. Living a victorious life in spite of those things makes me a living testimony to the power of God. II Corinthians 2.7-10 puts it this way, "But we have t his treasure [that's the life of Christ] in earthen vessels that the excellency of the power may be of God and not of ourselves, we are troubled on every side yet not distressed, we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted but not forsaken, cast down but not destroyed. Always bearing in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body."
When I tell people about some of the things I've been through in my life, they say, "How could you possibly have gone through all that?" And that is all I need to tell them that, the only way I could have made it through that time was with the help of the Lord Jesus Christ.
I was talking to a group of young people once. They were mostly gay, lesbian and bisexual, but there were a few transsexuals as well in the group. I told them about some of my experiences and one of them said, "With all that going on in your life, did you ever think about chucking all the religious stuff?" And it was a moment of enlightenment for me, because I said without even thinking, but almost in shock, "No, of course not, my relationship with God was the only thing that held me through those times. When I was 15 years old and lay in bed with a knife poised over my throat contemplating suicide after being raped, only the hand of God stayed my hand." About 15 minutes later I finished my sermon. But it was true. And the truth was that that particular testimony would not be available to me if I had not been despised.
2. Because of our rejection by others we can truly sympathize with others facing the same sort of thing. I have several Hispanic friends. They are often assumed to be criminals and lazy and worthless by many of the whites. They face various levels of discrimination and prejudice. Because of my own experiences, I can more fully empathize with their situations. Other people who are hurting, who have been the victims of gossip and back biting, who have had people treat them cruely can come to me and I can honestly say, "I know what you are talking about."
Pain calls out to pain. Those of us who have experienced the pain of being despised and rejected are the perfect ones to minister to those who are facing the same thing. However, too often we set in our own pain and never reach out to others. Let me tell you a great secret: Your pain will never decrease until you minister to someone else in pain. The greatest miracles for you will come when you are praying for another.
3. Finally, by being "despised and rejected of men" we share in the suffering of Christ. Paul puts it this way in Romans 8.17 "If it so be that we suffer with him we may also be glorified together. For I reckon that the sufferings of this presenttime are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us."
Jesus was despised, rejected, spat upon, condemned, beaten, abused in every conceivable way. If we share even for a short time in those types of suffering and remember the greater suffering that he endured for us, we in some way grow spiritually. We belong to a more exclusive club than that person who has experienced little rejection in his life. And one day, when the clouds of heaven part and a voice says "Come Home My Children," there will be a special reward awaiting those of us who suffered, but endured and remained faithful of him who will place a crown of life on our heads with his own nail-scarred hands.
