Monday, October 8, 2012

Someone

If you know anything about the history of ancient Israel, as recorded in the Old Testament or the writings of a 1st century historian named Josephus, you know that a good deal of it goes kind of like this:

Israel decides to stop doing what God says, start living like everyone around them and worship weird gods - things go south for Israel -someone pops up to lead Israel back to the straight and narrow (usually a Judge or a King or a Prophet) - Israel prospers

Until.......Israel decides to stop doing what God says - rinse - repeat.

Usually the characters that stepped up to the plate are venerated for what they have done. Josiah, Judas Maccabees and Deborah are names that are not forgotten among the faithful to this day.

But I recently came across a passage in the book of 2nd Kings. Israel was going through the same sort of thing, led by an evil king and repeatedly beaten in battle by another nation.

Then it says simply, "So the LORD provided SOMEONE to rescue the Israelites..."

No name. No title. No record of the things they did.

Just someone.

I think that sometimes we are asked to be, simply, someone. To do the right thing, to influence others, maybe even to make a world changing, people rescuing impact without anyone ever knowing who that someone was.

And sometimes it can be hard not getting the credit, the title, the recognition.

Sometimes it is hard to just be someone.


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