When God Brings Beauty from What Man Disdains
By Jennifer Slattery
A few years ago, when sensing God asking me to speak on a subject related to one of my darkest and most shameful seasons, what I refer to as my homeless period, I resisted. Thinking back on that time when I wondered the streets of Tacoma, Washington, feeling despondent and alone, I said, “I don’t want to be the homeless girl, God.”. My soul felt conflicted, compelled by the love of God to encourage those who desperately needed hope, but also afraid of how others might perceive me, and ultimately, reject me. As certain people came to mind who I thought might look down on me, upon hearing this part of my story, I perceived God’s gentle yet firm whisper, “They aren’t your mission field.”
His words reminded me to focus not on the potential scorn of the proud but rather the hearts of the broken. To, at each moment, elevate God’s guiding and empowering voice above all others, trusting Him to bring beauty from what some might call damaged or defective.
I wonder if Timothy, the Christ-follower who played a major role in the early church, ever felt this way. In Acts 16:1, we’re told, “Paul came to Derbe and then to Lystra, where a disciple named Timothy lived whose mother was Jewish and a believer but whose father was a Greek” (NIV).
Reading these words, some 2,000 years removed from the cultural climate in which we live, we can easily miss their significance. The way God selected a man who literally embodied the merging of two cultures during a time when the Lord was uniting two often hostile people groups, Jews and Gentiles, into one family bonded by Christ’s blood.
Consider, the apostles, along with every Jewish believer, had been taught from childhood to maintain distance from Greeks and their pagan ways. The devout would never enter their homes or allow a Gentile into theirs. Some even washed their dishes prior to eating, in case a Gentile had inadvertently touched, and therefore defiled, the item. Therefore, you can probably imagine how the community might have responded to interracial marriage. Such unions were so abhorred, those who engaged in them were known not only to experience rejection but to have family members mourn them as if dead.
Yet, God was in the process of shattering racism with grace and replacing learned hostility with love. Acts 15 tells us of a serious and historical meeting between church leaders uncertain how to deal with the supernatural merging of these two people groups. During what scholars refer to as the “Council in Jerusalem,” the church leaders determined not to make it difficult for Gentiles to receive Christ. In other words, to remove the barriers that had, for centuries, kept these races separate.
I find it significant, and beautiful, that Paul, the first century church planter driving this historical unification, encountered Timothy, in the very next chapter—Acts 16. Led by the Spirit, he invited Timothy to join his mission and to, ultimately, pastor the racially diverse church in Ephesus.
I wonder what talk might’ve followed this godly man. No doubt, there were those who slandered him. But I’m equally certain there were many who not only admired and respected him, but who evaluated, then abandoned, their former prejudices. Those who, like me, saw in Him evidence of God’s hand, of prophesy fulfilled. Perhaps they remembered the Lord’s words, recorded in Isaiah 49:6, which reads, “It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of the house of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth” (NIV).
As Paul so eloquently stated, in a letter to the very church Timothy pastored, “For he himself is our peace, who had made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, buy which he put to death their hostility” (Eph. 2:14-16, NIV).
In this, we see God’s heart for all mankind and His tendency to bring beauty from those parts of us we, perhaps, most long to change. If, like Timothy, we’ll have the courage to embrace our mission.
Intersecting Life & Faith:
Is there an aspect of your past, personality, or current position that God might long to use for His glory and mankind’s good? How might viewing your perceived flaws through the lens of grace impact your steps? Will you allow His voice to echo louder than your insecurities?
Will you trust your faithful, loving, and strategically intentional Lord with all of You, choosing to believe that He can and will radiate His transformative light through you?
Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/Elvira Podolinska
Jennifer Slattery is a writer and speaker who co-hosts the Faith Over Fear podcast and, along with a team of 6, the Your Daily Bible Verse podcast. She’s addressed women’s groups, Bible studies, and taught at writers conferences across the nation. She’s the author of Building a Family and numerous other titles and maintains a devotional blog at JenniferSlatteryLivesOutLou
She’s passionate about helping people experience Christ’s freedom in all areas of their lives. Visit her online to learn more about her speaking or to book her for your next women’s event, and sign up for her free quarterly newsletter HERE and make sure to connect with her on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and GodTube.
Check out fantastic resources on Faith, Family, and Fun at Crosswalk.com!
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