What that story about my dad and the story about Cornelius illustrate, at least in my mind, is the willingness of a father to engage his child in his work. My dad didn’t and my heavenly Father doesn’t NEED me to accomplish their projects. In fact, both could get things done more efficiently and effectively without me.
Choosing to use sinners in building His church means that God is patient with our errors and ignorance. And somehow He gets more glory in using people like me than angels (Acts 10), donkeys (Numbers 22), or even rocks (Luke 19).
In finding all the wrong tools in the garage and bringing them to my dad, I learned a little bit about carpentry and construction. In spending that time with my dad I became a little bit more like him; I grew into his likeness. The same holds true in the spiritual realm.
Participation is God’s choice for transmitting His heart to us and conforming us to His image.
And what a privilege it is – to be chosen for the job over beings with a résumé that includes never making a mistake, never forgetting a single word of the message they’ve been given, and literally being able to fly! Thanks Lord! It’s all I could ever want and far more than I deserve.