Episode 3: The Ordinary Made Holy

Throughout the Bible, we see God using ordinary people for his extraordinary mission. He chooses to make kings like David out of shepherds, call warriors like Gideon out of the least of the tribes, and choose leaders of his church like Peter from commoners. Even Mary, the mother of Jesus, was ordinary turned extraordinary. As Dr. Tan Soo Inn puts it:

God’s choice of Mary is instructive. She was young, in a world that placed a high value on age. She didn’t come from the palace, nor is it mentioned that she was a Levite. And she lived in Nazareth, not Jerusalem. By the valuations of this world, she was, well, ordinary. What made Mary extraordinary was her response to the assignment given to her. When told what she had to do, she replied: “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled” (Luke 1:38a NIV). She was clear about her identity — she was a servant of the Lord, and she knew what that meant…. An extraordinary God chooses the ordinary to do His extraordinary work.

(unquote) The word ordinary can imply that something is insignificant. But when God’s people place their life in his hands, they become impactful despite being ordinary. As an extract from the poem

It All Depends on Whose Hands It’s in by missionary Paul Ciniraj which reads:

A rod in my hands will keep away a wild animal.
A rod in Moses’ hands will part the mighty sea.
It depends whose hands it’s in.

A sling shot in my hands is a kid’s toy.
A sling shot in David’s hand is a mighty weapon.
It depends whose hands it’s in.

Five loaves and two fishes in my hands are a couple of fish sandwiches.
Five loaves and two fishes in Jesus’ hands will feed thousands.
It depends whose hands it’s in.

As you see now, it depends on whose hands it’s in. (unquote)

In God’s hands, the ordinary turns extraordinary.

The ordinary can also mean the mundane. The seemingly mundane workplace is one of the most important grounds for ministry. A conscious effort has to be made to ensure this is impressed on the church. God can use you and the roles you play, including your skills and gifts, to be his instruments in the workplace.

God calls you to be faithful where you are planted, ordinary as you may be. As you allow God to use you, the ordinary is made extraordinary. Let me now turn to my point on how you can -

Bloom Where You Are Planted

In the workplace, you can bloom for God. There was an incident narrated in Acts 9:1-22 that illustrates this truth:

In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord told him, “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.”

“Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem. And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.

But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.” (Acts 9:10-16)

My focus here is not on Saul, but Ananias. The commission from the Lord to Ananias was to minister to Saul. But have you wondered why was it directed at Ananias? Plainly, it shows that God does not commission only those whom we deem to have prominence. He calls and uses ordinary people for his great purpose.

Ananias was in the right place at the right time for God to use. This was despite being an ordinary person among the list of notables in the Bible. I am sure if there was a funeral service for Ananias, Paul would have given a eulogy as a tribute to him. I can imagine Paul thanking Ananias for being willing to be used in the state he was in, in the place where he was in, despite the apprehensions he had, to minister to him. Ananias’ reward is surely great in heaven!

Similarly, we never know how God can use us to bring to faith someone who will be greatly used by him in the future, even if we are not used in the same way. It is not how prepared we are or how others perceive us that matters most. What is more important is how we respond, given the opportunity. Consider this list of ordinaries and what they did:

1. Johann von Staupitz was an ordinary clergyman who helped Martin Luther come to Christ. We are indebted to Luther, the father of the Protestant church, but God used Staupitz for his purpose.
2. John Egglen was an ordinary deacon who played a major part in the conversion of Charles Spurgeon. Spurgeon became one of the greatest pastor-preachers of the
   19th century and is still revered today.
3. Edward Kimball was an ordinary church member, a shoemaker and Sunday School teacher. However, he was instrumental in providing spiritual mentorship to none other than D.L. Moody, one of the greatest evangelists of the 19th century.
4. Mordecai Ham was an ordinary pastor and evangelist. He preached on the night Billy Graham yielded his life to Christ.

The point is clear — we are to bloom in the place and circumstances where we are planted for the honor and glory of God. This is regardless of our position or lack of credentials.

This came home to me in one of my own experiences in an unlikely place — in the army!

In Singapore, every able-bodied man enters the army to serve his National Service. After completion, we are expected to be called up for reservist training for about two to four weeks each year. I did not have to do reservist training for six years due to my overseas studies, but when I finally entered my first reservist camp, I revolted.

I was dismayed at the great mismatch between myself and others in the logistics camp I was assigned to. Most of them were dialect-speaking and poorly educated. Some had criminal records. There were several gangs within the camp. We had a bunch of the worst-disciplined people in the vocations of cooks, drivers and storemen at that time. Undoubtedly, there was fear in me. There was a level of discomfort in me. There was prejudice in me. It was like being offered “unclean” food by the Lord, just as the apostle Peter experienced.

God had to deal with all of these apprehensions and prejudices to move me from sulking and fretting to seeing the great opportunity I had. I thank God that in the course of mixing with all these reservist mates, he gave me the privilege of sharing Christ with a number of them. This was done despite difficulty communicating in their dialects. But seeds were planted because these were divine moments.

I could never have imagined that some 10 years later, one of them would accept the Lord. He grew in faith and passion. He responded to the call to full-time pastoral ministry and went for theological studies. He is now a pastor serving in the Mandarin service in my church and in grassroots ministry.

My experience taught me that we can indeed bloom where we are planted, no matter how inadequate we may feel. Question – are you blooming where you are planted?

Next, I would like to highlight to you that the Workplace can be a holy ground for God ie.

The Workplace as Holy Ground

Moses, when he encountered God at the burning bush, was told to take off his shoes, for the place where he stood was holy ground. He was, at that time, a shepherd in a remote desert place, a very ordinary person. Yet God visited him in his ordinary occupation and marked the place as holy. As Ruth H. Barton said:

All of us can have burning bushes in our lives, places that shimmer with grace, alerting us to the possibility that God is at work doing something that we could not have predicted.

Have you considered your ordinary workplace as holy ground? Do you realize that it is a place where God should be honoured in your “going out and coming in”? This thought came to me at one time when I worked in the workplace.

Whenever I could make it to my office for a time of personal prayer and devotion, I literally took off my shoes to pray. It was a sign that the office where I would have interactions with colleagues was holy ground. I prayed for God to make me conscious of my testimony. I prayed that the words of my mouth would be “seasoned with salt”, and the meditation of my heart would be acceptable to him. I could invoke God’s blessing in every meeting I went to, in the production spaces I worked in, and in every decision I had to make.

When we regard our workplace as holy ground, this cannot help but change us and the ways we interact with our work and our colleagues.

Let me summarize. An ordinary person is made holy in three ways:

1. When the ordinary performs the extraordinary as he surrenders to the will and calling of God;
2. When the ordinary blooms in the place where he has been planted for the honor and glory of God;
3. When the ordinary regards the workplace as holy ground, fully consecrated to God.

Well, its time to end again.  In my next episode, I will touch on how our workplace can be a mission field. Till then, have a blessed week!

Study Questions

1. Why does God often use ordinary people to fulfil his purpose? Cite some examples in the Bible or in the contemporary world.

2. Reflect on how you can bloom in the present place where God has planted you in the workplace. Discuss how this may be applied or adapted in one another's work situations.

3. In what ways would you consider the workplace as holy ground? How would this help in your attitude towards your colleagues, your superior and your work?