The Call with Spotty Reception

Reflection on 1 Corinthians 1:26-31

26 For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. 30 And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, 31 so that, as it is written, "Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord."

When your phone call starts to break up, the first thing you do is look down at your phone to confirm. "I have four bars. It must be on your end." We say it with a slightly reproachful tone. "Come on," we think to ourselves. "Get it together." Perhaps if we are honest, we feel the same way about God. When the call is unclear, we are sure we have four bars. God must be in a dead spot. Or maybe God has a old flip phone. Typical God. So resistant to new technology.

But have you ever lived in a house with bad reception? You live in a dead spot for your  carrier. You know that when the call breaks up, its your fault. You have the one bar. You know it. And the person on the other end says - "I have four bars. It must be on your end." Oh the shame.

As we have read through the call stories of God in the Scriptures, the constant theme has been bad reception. We have seen that God calls in so many different ways. But in every case, the listener to the call has one bar. Abraham, Moses, David, Jeremiah, Job, Paul all get the signal scrambled (Mary actually does this one pretty well.) They doubt God. They doubt themselves. They doubt the plan. And, if we are honest, when we look at our response, the reception is pretty bad as well.

That's why I love this paragraph from Paul. It reminds me that bad reception is not surprising to God. God's call only goes out to the places with bad reception. God is not calling those in the best location or with the best location. God is calling people who don't get it. God is calling people who aren't impressive. God is calling people who are 'low and despised'.

You may not understand God's call yet. You may be fearful. You may doubt. But that doesn't change the transmission. God is committed to calling you - our of fear, doubt, anxiety - and into purpose and life.

And when the call totally dropped out, and we were tempted to throw the phone against the wall, God did what all good friends do. He yelled into the dying phone, 'I'm coming over.' And that's what he did. The author of Hebrews says it best:

"Long ago, at many times and in various ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days, he has spoken to us through a Son..." (Hebrews 1:1)

Let us boast in and focus on, not the quality of our reception, but the goodness of the one who calls.

Monday's Reading: Acts 2:1-18