What Am I Doing Here?

I sat and ate lunch today with about 50-75 Ph.D. students and professors as part of the orientation activities here at Fuller. They are a fascinating group of folks. Some already have one doctorate and are working on another; some have degrees from places as prestigious as Princeton; some have degrees from Cambridge in England - and those are the students not the professors. One of my new colleagues is proficient in Hebrew (I intend to make him my friend!) along with several other Semitic languages; another is working under a grant that has her displaying her artistic work in an L.A. museum; still another is head of the Campus Life ministry at Stanford University and is commuting each week from San Francisco to L.A. by plane. They are by any stretch of imagination, an impressive group of students, highly motivated, and extremely accomplished.
Then come the professors. One had just had a book published; another was just about finished with the first volume of a two-volume major work; several were working in conjunction with major religious denominations or organizations to write or consult with them about issues of extreme importance to the Christian community. They are experts in their respective fields and scholars who are so accomplished that they have been invited to be on the teaching staff of one of the most prestigious seminaries in the world and they are the men and women influencing the next generation of professors and scholars by mentoring people like me and my classmates through this long, arduous, and dangerous journey called graduate education.
Looking around the luncheon I couldn't help but wonder what I am doing here. My academic credentials are not nearly as strong as most of my colleagues or any of the professors. While I may not be the oldest student entering the program, I am close. I am no spring chicken, no eager young beaver trying to set out on a program to change the world. Who am I to be in such distinguished company? I'll tell you who I am. I am a child of the King, chosen by His Spirit to travel down this road. I cannot tell you why He chose me, but I know He chose me. And that is enough.
The next time you are "chosen" to take on some task at work or some ministry at church; the next time someone places a confidence in you and your abilities or character that, in your own mind, exceeds who you are and what you can do; the next time you face a situation where the mountain seems to high or the valley seems too low, take heart my friend and ask one very simple question. Does He want you to go? Is the Spirit the one who is leading you down this path? Has the God of the Universe determined that of all the servants of His that He could choose, He has chosen you? Then, that is enough. And in a room full of scholars or a business filled with highly competent workers or in a church that has more qualified and mature followers of Christ, remember this one truth. If God is for you, who can be against you? If God has called you how can you fail if you remain faithful to His call and close to His will? This thing called mission and ministry is not about your ability nor is about your inability. It is about one thing. Your availability. It's about His strength and your weakness that creates dependence on Him rather than independence of Him and dependence on yourself. In short, it's not about you. It's about God. And I think He knows what He is doing!