Who Am I To Be Used By God?

They were amazed and astonished, saying, "Why, are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we each hear them in our own language to which we were born? (Acts 2:7-8 NASB)

Every time I have gone over this passage, I have wondered how they knew the group was from Galilee rather than "local" or whatever.  A miracle of speaking and hearing is performed, yet in a Galilean "twang"?  It just seems interesting that the crowd could tell.  I thought maybe John was wearing a tee-shirt with "Property of Sea of Tiberius" or "Fish Galilee" or "Zebedee's Fresh Fish Company".

I have often wondered what made it obvious.  From the statement it had to be obvious, so what was it?  Because that piece of information, that detail, factored into the amazement and astonishment of the crowd.  Sure they were hearing the great wonders of God in their own dialect, but from Galileans?  Now that was crazy.  The fact that they were Galilean removed any support for another explanation, it had to be divine. 

But why was that?  Are there no schools in Galilee?  Are there no teachers, mentors, or tutors?  Are the only schools in Jerusalem?  What about immigrants?  Couldn't immigrants from other regions explain a plethora linguistic ability?  There were so few that it wouldn't?  So, I return to Nathaniel's statement from John 1:46, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?"  That was one place within a larger region, and Nathaniel was from the region, a Galilean shore-town named Bethsaida, like Philip, Peter and Andrew.  So even within the "Region of Illiteracy" there were places worse than others.  It seems Jesus Himself was from one of the worst.

Regardless of what made it obvious, it was a detail that contributed to the shock of the event for the crowd.  And I move on to wonder if that too was part of the design of my Master?  In using such obviously unqualified people, wouldn't the event have to be a work of the Maker of the universe?  In choosing such a group no one else would choose, my Master makes His mark indelible; it can't be missed, and it can't be otherwise explained.

So, am I, with all my failures; physical, moral and spiritual; one who glorifies my King through my weaknesses?  Sort of.  To the extent I am redeemed from my moral failures, yes.  To the extent that the work demonstrates spiritual growth and faith, yes.  But not through moral and spiritual failure, that isn't what displays the glory of my Master.  These illiterate speakers of various languages were not pointed out because they were excluded by their God, but because they would not be expected to speak anything but Aramaic, maybe some simple Greek to conduct business, and a few phrases in Latin to stay out of trouble; the common language of the day.  No one would expect them to speak the specific language and dialect of Phrygia.

So, yes, my Master can use one such as me for His glory.  He can make His handiwork obvious in the process, and it can clearly overshadow me in every way.  But He will do so when my guilt and shame are not what make it unusual or what competes for the attention.  Or will He?  My only comfort at this point is David.  Other than him, I don't know of an obvious sinner used by my Master.  In fact David was really a moral failure only after attaining the great blessings of God as king.  Perhaps his son, Solomon would also be an example.  I really can't rely on those though.  They were examples of what not to do, and that's not really the example I want to give.  Sure they are also examples of God's redemption and use of "broken vessels", but still, there was a sense of repentance and change that made the story of their moral failures able to be told.

Will my Master use me?  He can.  I hope He will.  I hope people will hear or see something in me and say, "That's impossible!  What can it mean?"  It would be awesome and humbling for people to see me and hear me, but not be distracted by me; to be able to be ignored so my Master can shine forth.  That would be really cool.  More than likely God will not be using me in this way, it would just be cool.  Maybe I should invest in a shirt from Galilee?