One man

If I could be any man that ever lived, but just one man, then maybe I would have been Adam. Adam was unique, a direct creation of God who had personal contact, fellowship with his Creator as they walked together in the coolness of the garden. Adam didn’t have a belly button and was the lead gardener having the responsibility of naming all the animals. How perfect life would have been for him if only he would have made better choices. 

But then there was Noah who listened to God and built an ark. Although it had never rained before he believed God and finished the task set before him. People ridiculed and mocked him as they watched his sons building the strange craft. I like the fact that Noah is the father of all who were born after the great flood. So if I could be one man, just one man, it would have to be Noah.

Then there was the elderly shepherd Moses who spoke directly with God as His voice thundered from a bush burning that wasn’t being consumed. Who later asked to see Him face to face and was blinded by His glory from just the shadow of His passing. Moses, although reluctantly, took a message from God to the great pharaoh of Egypt “Let My people go!”  He not only received the Ten Commandments but also led the fledgling nation of Israel to the edge of the Promised Land, yes, that’s who I’d like to have been.

On another day, centuries later, thousands of Israelis solders stood shaking in their sandals as the Philistine champion Goliath taunted them to send out their best man to fight with him. Day after day no man came forward to meet the giant in battle until one day a young man by the name of David from Bethlehem picked up five smooth stones. David, filled with God’s Spirit, only needed one stone to find its mark as the giant wobbled and toppled to the ground.  So if I could be just one man of course it would be the shepherd boy David, the son of Jesse.

If I could be just one man of God it would have to be Elijah. He was a mighty prophet of God who held back the rain as he called the nation of Israel to repentance. Elijah called down fire from heaven to consume a water soaked offering as a witness to the greatness of the One True and Living God! He slaughtered the queen’s prophets of Baal and in the end rode a chariot of fire into eternity.

 

So if I could be only one man, I would like to be Peter. He knew the Lord personally and walked with him. Peter was a fisherman, a simple man who loved the Lord with all of his heart and would have laid down his life for a friend. He exercised great faith in stepping out of the boat amidst a stormy sea as he walked to the Lord Jesus on the water. Peter helped feed the five thousand, healed the sick and broke the revelation that God had cleansed even the gentiles.

On second thought no, it would have to be John, the disciple that Jesus loved, the man who Jesus gave His own mother to at His death, that’s the man I would be if I could be just one man.  John outlived all the other disciples by a Roman mile, wrote a gospel, three letters and the Revelation of Jesus Christ. He talked more about love than any other man except Jesus. So if I could be just one man who lived a long, godly life it would have to be John.

You know the more I think about it the more I see how flawed all these men really were. The thing that made all these men great was that they demonstrated great faith in God and allowed His Spirit and power to work through them “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:10.

Now, as I examine my own life, I see how God is working through me. I trust that He loves me, has a perfect plan for my life and is in the process of leading me in that pursuit. Oh what a glorious thing it is to be in the hands of an all loving God. Expecting that each step I take might be a step where He leads me to someone who needs His mercy and grace. 

So now after a final thought if I could be any man, I would want to be me, uniquely fashioned and gifted for work that God prepared for me to walk in.