Once upon a time, I purchased almost without thinking the most expensive eggs in the grocery store. These were sorted and selected for size and uniformity, given little red markings, and sold in a nicer package than the 'cheap' eggs down in the bottom of the cooler. With the better eggs one could learn the muscle memory that cracked the eggs without any surprises such as shells in the pan or leaving egg all over the counter. Not so with the lesser eggs I deal with now! One might crack with the tiniest tap and leak all over, while the next leaves me wondering if will need a hammer and chisel to break the shell.
In this life, you have experienced that same sorting and selecting from an early age. Anyone remember being chosen last or near the last in those grade school teams? Like many others, my lack of future professional-caliber athletic talent did not go unnoticed by those choosing their teams for the big sports contest. When it came to sports, I was a lesser egg. You may have come to the same conclusion in some other sort of contest. When the cream rose to the top of the corporation, somehow you were left behind. The academic awards came and went, but you weren't even invited to sit in the audience. Most every sheep in the flock of the Good Shepherd has been rejected by the world in some way. We are the lesser eggs. We are in good company.
For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant,
And as a root out of dry ground.
He has no form or comeliness;
And when we see Him,
There is no beauty that we should desire Him.
He is despised and rejected by men,
A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.
And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him;
He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. (Isaiah 53:2-3)
Looking at the famous people of our world, we may well realize that not one would choose us for the team of worldly buff and wonderful rich folks. Jesus went around choosing His team carefully too. A despised tax collector? I'll take one of those. Fishermen cheap at twice the price? Give me several for My team. Zealots are a real pain in the neck? Give me one for the Twelve. A doubter? I need one of those for sure! Oh, and I'll take that one who will betray me to be crucified too. We may well look at what we have to offer Jesus and wonder how in the world He could choose us for His team. Of course 'in the world' is the problem with our view! A dozen lesser eggs in the world's eyes we may well be, but Christ chose us just as we are. Does our choosing confound the princes of this world? Well, praise God for that!
In Christ,Bucky
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