Qualified

I was the least qualified of any of the available Christians. ~ Ephesians 3:8 (Message)



Have you ever come upon a situation that you needed to speak to: a girlfriend thinking of leaving her spouse, a buddy fallen into drugs, a friend thinking of quitting on life...? But what qualifies us? What gives us the right to speak into people's lives--people we know, people we care about, people we love? If I've gone through something you and you haven't, am I more qualified or are you? If I've done things in my past and you haven't, am I less qualified than you? No!



Neither is less and neither is more qualified than the other. Because it's not about us--it's never been about us and it will never be about us. Look at what Paul says in Ephesians 3:7-8: This is my life: helping people understand and respond to this Message. It came as a sheer gift to me, a real surprise, God handling all the details. I was the least qualified of any of the available Christians. God saw to it that I was equipped, but you can be sure it had nothing to do with any natural abilities, (Message). Paul is credited with authoring most of the New Testament, and yet he writes, "I was the least qualified..."



If Paul was the "least" qualified, then what makes one qualified? Is it years of study? Time spent on Earth (age)? Is it the number of degrees you've got hanging up on your wall? None of that matters, really. Look at what Paul says makes us qualified, "God saw to it that I was equipped..." It's not "us," there's nothing carnal or physical or emotional or mental that qualifies us. It is God alone and, moreover, it is Christ in us. This is what Jesus says in John 15, "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit...You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit--fruit that will last," (vv 5, 16; NIV). Long, long before our great grandparents were born, God chose us and appointed us; which automatically qualifies us. Now, we have a choice to make in this. If you read more of John 15, you'll see that anyone who does not remain in Christ will be "disqualfied," because we can do nothing apart from Christ, (v 5-6).



If it is Christ alone who qualfies, and you remain in Christ, then you are qualfied. I am qualified. And I don't have to worry about "messing up," for just as Paul said: God handles all the details, and He sees to it that I am equipped. He equips us through the Holy Spirit who lives inside of us and tells us what we are to say--we need only listen and obey. You are equipped; you are qualified; God will take care of all the details. As you remain in Christ and He remains in you, that qualifies you. You are qualified.