The Promised LandНамуна

Before Moses was born, Pharaoh commanded that all Hebrew baby boys be thrown into the Nile River to die; the Hebrew population was growing, which left the Egyptians fearful of an uprising. Moses’ mother did place him in the Nile, but only after laying him in a basket first, hoping he would somehow survive. In a surprising turn of events, Pharaoh’s own daughter found him and adopted him!

When Moses stepped out of the comfort of his Egyptian home, he realized just how brutally his people were being treated. He responded by murdering an Egyptian overseer who was beating a fellow Hebrew. Moses thought no one had witnessed the murder and that he had covered his tracks, but word spread. Pharaoh sought to kill Moses in retaliation, so Moses fled to the land of Midian.

Moses acted outside of God’s will, which had consequences: he had to flee his home, live as a foreigner for decades, and carry the heavy weight that comes with taking a life. Perhaps during Moses’ burning-bush encounter with God, he felt unworthy to deliver the people because of this experience: “I already tried to help the hurting Hebrews. Remember how poorly that went?”

Yet, God still called Moses by name, and he became one of the most significant pillars of the faith to have ever walked the earth. God called Aaron to be the first high priest, even though he aided the Hebrews in idol worship. There are unworthy people all throughout Scripture whom God called by name.

None of us will ever be worthy or deserving of the mercy and grace God offers to us. We deserve punishment for our sin, but instead we are offered the gifts of forgiveness, new life, and an invitation to be used by God.

Did you know that we are the only part of creation that is made in the image of God? This means we reflect God’s nature just by existing. We cannot be worthy on our own, yet the God of the universe loves us unconditionally and has created us with inherent value as image bearers.

If we wait until we are worthy to respond to God’s love or call to serve, neither will ever happen. The good news is that God calls those who are faithful, obedient, surrendered, and filled with the Holy Spirit, not those who are perfect.