Going From ‘Who’s Who’ to ‘Who’s He?’

I’m going to give you a brief list of people: Ryne Duren. Luis Arroyo. Ron Perranoski. Dennis Eckersley. Goose Gossage. Bruce Sutter. Mariano Rivera. Rollie Fingers.

 

Any of those names sound familiar? Do you remember any of them? 

 

Each was an accomplished relief pitcher in the Major Leagues. In their heyday, they all were household names for avid fans of professional baseball. Some have been elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Unfortunately, as is the case with once-famous people in any profession, fewer and fewer people remember them despite their considerable accomplishments.

 

There are many other names I could have chosen, men renowned for coming in from the bullpen in the late innings to save the ballgame. But the point is the same: Fame is fleeting. Though folks may revel in it for a time, the page soon turns, redirecting the acclaim to other people.

 

You can search for information about these individuals on the Internet, and they might have been included in old editions of Who’s Who in America. But before you know it, they’ve moved from Who’s Who to “Who’s He?”

 

This isn’t to disparage the achievements and lives of these men or others. It’s simply true that in most cases the things we’re known for best are soon forgotten.

 

In the Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes, King Solomon – generally regarded as the wisest and richest man of his time – offered a somewhat cynical view of earthly success, wealth and pleasures. Of which, incidentally, he had determined to experience as much as possible. 

 

He wrote, perhaps with the pen of a pessimist, “There is no remembrance of men of old, and even those who are yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow” (Ecclesiastes 1:11).

 

Then, to underscore that he was not a theoretical philosopher but someone who knew this firsthand, Solomon complained, “…My heart took delight in all my work, and this was the reward for all my labor. Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 2:10-11).

 

In essence the Israelite king was saying no matter who you are – a celebrated athlete, highly successful businessperson, acclaimed movie or TV star, maintenance person, gifted surgeon, retail clerk, honored schoolteacher or college professor, prize-winning scientist, or even a popular preacher – your time in the ‘limelight,’ so to speak, will one day come to an end.

 

One’s place in the locker room, classroom, office, store, laboratory, worksite or sanctuary will go to someone else. Worldly honors and fame all too quickly fade. In words that echo the sentiments of Solomon, a New Testament passage declares, “…What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes” (James 4:14).

 

Now let me give you another list: Simon Peter; Andrew; James and John, sons of Zebedee; Philip; Bartholomew; Thomas; Matthew; James, son of Alphaeus; Thaddaeus; Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot. And we’ll add Saul of Tarsus, better known as Paul. Do you recognize these names?

 

By profession they were nobodies: fishermen; a despised tax collector; a political activist; a religious persecutor. Yet today, each is known by countless millions who follow Jesus Christ. All but one – Judas Iscariot – left an everlasting legacy. 

 

Judas, of course, bears the shame of being the greatest betrayer of all time, the one who sold his allegiance to Christ for 30 pieces of silver. But the others are celebrated nearly 2,000 years after their earthly lives ended because of their faithfulness to a divine mission.

 

Shortly before His arrest, mock trial and crucifixion, Jesus had called His followers together and explained the special calling He was giving to them: “You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit – fruit that will last” (John 15:16). He wasn’t talking about grapes and apples.

 

After His resurrection and just before ascending to heaven, Jesus completed the assignment. He said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20).

 

The apostles remained faithful to this commission to the end, all but one being martyred for never unwavering in their trust and commitment to Christ. Their names, mission, and fruit that truly lasts are remembered today – not because of their extraordinary talents and skills, but because their devotion to the living God.

 

C.T. Studd was a British missionary who served in China, India and Africa. He formed the World Evangelisation Crusade (now WEC International) which continues to minister in many parts of the world. For many people, he is probably remembered best for his poem, “Only One Life,” Toward the end of it Studd wrote these words:

“Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.

And when I am dying, how happy I’ll be

If the lamp of my life has been burned out for Thee.”

 

So, here’s the good news. You might not have a household name. Like most of us, you might be more likely to be included in “Who’s He (or She)?” than Who’s Who. But if we’re faithful to follow Christ, seeking to bear fruit that will last as He sees fit, we’ll be remembered where it matters most. For all of eternity.

From God’s Perspective, Ordinary is Good Enough

Fans of collegiate athletics are familiar with the term “blue chip.” It describes athletes who, according to various recruiting service, are the best of the best in sports like football, basketball, baseball, softball, hockey and soccer. Any coach worth his or her salt knows one factor in succeeding on the field, court or rink is having enough blue-chip players on the team.

 

That kind of mindset carries over to other areas of life. In the corporate world, businesses delight in hiring prospects who possess MBAs, and law firms tend to favor graduates of prestigious universities and law schools. Performers on Broadway often have received their training at name-brand acting and music schools. Everyone seems to want folks with “blue-chip” credentials, the “crème de la crème” in their respective disciplines.

 

Many times, we even see this practice in the Church as well. Men and women holding prominence in the community are selected to serve as church leaders; hefty donors are asked to serve on boards of elders and deacons. The reasoning goes, “If they’re successful in the ‘secular’ world, surely they’ll be successful in handling major church responsibilities.”

 

God does not focus on
the outward appearance,
but on the heart.

What I find particularly interesting about this is that when God “recruits” people to His “team,” He utilizes entirely different criteria. As the refrain from an old song observed, “Just ordinary people…God uses ordinary people.” That is, ordinary people whose hearts are inclined toward Him.

Proof can be found throughout the Bible. Take Noah for example. In the account about God telling him to build an ark prior the Flood, we don’t read anything about his accomplishments. But we do learn about Noah’s character”: “Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and walked with God…. Noah did everything just as God commanded him” (Genesis 6:9,22). 

 

The lineage of the people of Israel – and all Jews today – traces back to a man named Abram, later renamed Abraham. Apparently, he and his family were successful in business, since Genesis 12:5 mentions “all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired.” However, most significant is that we’re told, “Abram believed the Lord, and He credited it to him as righteousness” (Genesis 15:6).

 

As we continue through Genesis, we find Jacob, a schemer and conniver who later received the name Israel, becoming the namesake for the Israelites. There’s Joseph, a young man who seemingly alienated his brothers with the attitude, “Dad (Jacob) loves me best.” Nevertheless, he became God’s instrument to preserve the people of Israel in Egypt during a time of extreme famine.

 

Moses, despite killing an Egyptian, was called by God to deliver the Israelites from 400 years of bondage. This is even though, when he first encountered the Lord at a burning bush and received his assignment, Moses resisted several times, arguing, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” (Exodus 3:11).

 

Rahab, who protected the Israelite spies as they scoped out the city of Jericho, was a prostitute. Hardly a member of high society in her community, yet she is among those cited for special recognition in the Hebrews 11 “hall of faith.”

 

Long before David became king of Israel, he was a lowly shepherd boy, regarded as so insignificant that when God sent Samuel to choose a successor to King Saul from the sons of Jesse, David wasn’t even invited to the lineup of brothers. There are the Old Testament prophets, for the most part an unlikely bunch – not included in the “Who’s Who” of Jewish society, but rather firmly entrenched in “Who’s he?” 

 

But when it came to ordinary people, the most striking examples were the ragtag group Jesus Christ called to be His closest followers: fishermen like Simon Peter, his brother Andrew, James and John, a despised tax collector named Matthew, the-ever skeptical Thomas, Judas Iscariot who would become Jesus’ betrayer, and several others who lacked notable credentials from Jewish society. 

 

The apostle Paul, prior to his conversion, was an esteemed Pharisee, but became widely despised once his zeal was redirected to preaching the life-changing gospel of Jesus Christ.

 

Most likely, none of these was ever voted “most likely to succeed” by their peers. In the eyes of most of their contemporaries – but not God – they were just ordinary people. But to Him, that made them ideally suited to become “instruments of righteousness,” as described in Romans 6:13. 

 

If you’re wondering, “So what?” the answer’s a simple one. If God could use people like those singled out above, He can use you – and me. We each have unique talents, gifts and interests, but when it comes to selecting people to do His work, the Lord isn’t so much concerned about our capabilities as He is our character.

 

This is one reason “ordinary” David, and not his outwardly more impressive brothers, was anointed to become Israel’s second king. As God told the prophet Samuel, “The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7).

 

Jesus referred to this truth when He told His disciples, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing…. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit – fruit that will remain” (John 15:5,16).

So, if you ever think you’d love to serve the Lord and be used by Him, but don’t think you have the right qualifications, good news: That means in God’s sight, you’re qualified. You’re His kind of blue-chipper! 

Have You Considered Divine Mathematics?

If we believe the Creation account, we would have to conclude that along with the physical things God created, He also created the laws and principles by which our world and the entire universe operate. This would include mathematics, in its simplest forms as well as its most complex. When Albert Einstein was working out his elaborate formulas, including E = mc², he was using calculations based on what the Lord originally configured eons ago.

 

But here’s a question: If you were to imagine which of the mathematical functions God favors the most, what would you guess it is? Perhaps I’m going out on a bit of a theological limb, but I think it would be multiplication.

 

Why do I say that? For starters, in the Bible’s first book, the Lord introduces the concept of multiplication. In the opening chapter, after imagining and forming the creatures that inhabit the seas and other waters, along with the birds, “And God saw that it was good. God blessed them, saying, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth’” (Genesis 1:21-22).

 

Then, after creating living creatures that would move on the ground, including humankind,“God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it…” (Genesis 1:24-28). Sadly, this didn't proceed without problems, prompting the Lord to take a "do over."

 

Following the global flood, in which God spared only Noah, his wife, his sons and their wives, along with representatives of every living creature, the waters subsided and Noah and his family prepared to leave the ark. Among the Lord’s instructions during the “exit interview,” He told them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth…. As for you, be fruitful and multiply; populate the earth abundantly and multiply in it”(Genesis 9:1,7).

 

God wasn’t talking about learning multiplication tables, like 3 times 3, or 5 times 9. He wanted them to exponentially repopulate the earth, in particular with humans created in His image.

 

This theme continues throughout the Scriptures. In Jeremiah 23:3, speaking about restoring the people of Israel who had been exiled into other lands, God told the prophet, “Then I Myself will gather the remnant of My flock out of all the countries where I have driven them and bring them back to their pasture, and they will be fruitful and multiply.”

 

Underscoring the Lord’s faithfulness, never failing to keep His promises with His chosen people, Hebrews 6:14 recalled, “For when God made the promise to Abraham, since He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, saying, ‘I will surely bless you and I will surely multiply you.’”

 

Perhaps the most important passage of all on God’s emphasis on multiplication concerns Jesus Christ’s final instructions, which we know as His Great Commission. Just prior to His ascension to heaven, He directed His followers, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations…teaching to observe all the things I have commanded you…” (Matthew 28:19-20).

 

No, this passage does not include the specific word “multiply,” but clearly refers to spiritual multiplication, the making of disciples – followers, learners, reproducers – who will make other disciples, who in turn will make other disciples.

 

In today’s Church culture, particularly in America, the focus seems primarily directed toward addition – seeing people convert to Christian belief, encouraging them to turn from their former ways of living apart from God. However, to convert – to turn – doesn’t necessarily mean an individual will immediately start moving forward in a new direction. Much like newly born human babies, spiritual babes need to be nurtured, fed, loved, cared for, taught, and eventually, disciplined.

 

Once a “disciplemaker” has helped a new believer toward spiritual maturity, assisting him or her to become a true follower of Jesus, then both the disciplemaker and disciple can start investing in others. The two of them become four, and the process of spiritual multiplication is underway. Four can become eight, then 16, then 32, and so on.

 

Long term, what does this look like? We find a good description in Isaiah 60:22, which declares, “A little one shall become a thousand, and a small one a strong nation. I, the Lord, will hasten it in its time.” Imagine, one person, completely sold out to Jesus Christ, whose life is devoted to helping others along in their journey with the Lord. Incredibly, over time, that one can become a thousand, and even more!

 

God’s desire and goal, not just in the United States but also around the world, is to greatly multiply genuine, devoted, strong and unwavering followers of Christ who will have an eternal impact on family members, friends, their communities, their cities, and their nations.

Many believe the solutions to our world’s problems are through politics, or ideology, or even education. There is value in each of those, but God is affirming that the ultimate answers are found only in Jesus Christ, helping more and more people to know Him, follow Him, and serve as His ambassadors by demonstrating His love, mercy and grace. And the way to bring that about is through a simple mathematical process: multiplication.