Who Would Have Thought . . . ?

My wife Candy and I have known Mindy Smith since she was a baby. Her dad Larry ministered with the Christian Church in Nesconset, New York, while our family served with a church nearby. Larry and I sometimes worked on sermons together. I remember sitting at his kitchen table when young Mindy came bouncing home from school.

Years later Mindy moved to Cincinnati when I was teaching at Cincinnati Bible College, and occasionally she came over to our house. Mindy said she wanted to be a singer, although Candy and I encouraged her, we never expected she would go very far, since few make it big in the music business.

But who's to say who will be the next "few"? In October Mindy Smith was a featured performer on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno. As Candy and I watched Mindy sing for millions on national TV, we asked ourselves, "Who would have thought that the little girl we knew back in New York would ever go so far?"

Surprising Potential

Susanna Wesley bore 19 children, only 10 of whom lived to adulthood. Did she realize that two of her boys, John and Charles, would become famous for their preaching and hymn writing? In the 1920s, did a Boy Scout leader in Grand Rapids, Michigan, realize that a young fellow in his troop named Jerry would grow up to be Gerald R. Ford, the 38th president of the United States? Did a weary Vacation Bible School teacher realize that the mischievous little boy in her class would grow up to be the famous preacher Charles Swindoll?

God sees what is, but he also sees what can be.

When the obnoxious guy at work tells another off-color joke, does it cross your mind that God could clean up his act if he would yield himself to the Lord? When you meet an unmarried couple who are cohabiting, do you turn from them in disgust, or do you see two people who could have a wonderful marriage if they would turn from sin and accept God's truth and grace? When you encounter an alcoholic who is pouring his life down the drain, do you realize how the Spirit of God could make him blossom with faithfulness and self-control?

Samuel came to Jesse's house to anoint a king, and Jesse's seven sons paraded before him in an awkward audition. Finally Samuel asked, "Are these all the sons you have?"

"There is still the youngest," Jesse answered, "but he is tending the sheep" (1 Samuel 16:10, 11). Who would have thought David had the potential to be a king? The Lord did.

Before she met Jesus, Mary Magdalene was a walking billboard for the devil with seven demons indwelling her. Who would have thought she would be among the first to witness the risen Christ? The Lord did.

Before he went to hear Jesus teach, a young boy packed his modest lunch: five small barley loaves and two small fish. Who would have thought Jesus could use so little to feed thousands? The Lord did.

Before she put her meager offering of two copper coins into the temple treasury, a poor widow was completely overshadowed by the rich who threw in large amounts. Who would have thought she actually gave more than all the rest? The Lord did.

Before he met Jesus, Saul of Tarsus was the church's Enemy Number One, "breathing out murderous threats against the Lord's disciples" (Acts 9:1). Who would have thought this man had the potential to take the gospel to Europe and write much of the New Testament? The Lord did.

In Christ we are new creations with enormous potential to serve God. From Genesis 1:1 ("In the beginning God") to Revelation 21:5 ("I am making everything new!"), God reveals himself as the author of surprising newness, the founder of fresh starts. He sees what is, but he also sees what can be.

Can we learn to look at people that way too?