Burning Bush

1 Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; he led his flock beyond the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush; he looked, and the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed. 3 Then Moses said, "I must turn aside and look at this great sight, and see why the bush is not burned up." 4 When the LORD saw that he had turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, "Moses, Moses!" And he said, "Here I am." (Exodus 3:1-4)

Moses was a man of two cultures - sharing the heritage of the oppressed people of Israel and the privilege of a royal upbringing as the adopted son of the Egyptian Pharaoh's daughter. Though it seems he was raised knowing the history of his ancestors, and he tried to use his power to defend the powerless, Moses was not trusted or accepted by either culture.

In an attempt to get away from it all, Moses took up residence in Midian, got married, had a son, and worked tending the sheep of his father-in-law. As a shepherd, Moses was not fulfilling either of his possible destinies: as a member of Pharaoh's court, or as an Israelite priest (both of his parents were from the priestly Levite tribe). But God didn't need Moses to be in the "right" place, or even the "right" frame of mind, in order to call him.

God came to Moses right where he was, and was determined to use Moses just as he was. The bush that burned without being consumed got Moses' attention, and all of Moses' protestations about his own inadequacies did not dissuade God from the purpose to which Moses was being called. Moses' past had uniquely positioned him for the work he was being called to. Who else could have approached both Pharaoh and the Israelite people from a place of compassion and personal investment, as well as from the perspective of an objective outsider?

The challenges and pain we've each faced position us to shine God's light in ways and places that others can not. The glory and power of God call to us where we are, accept us as we are, and equip us for what we are being called to. We have the opportunity to say, "Here I am".

24 Then Jesus told his disciples, "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 25 For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. 26 For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life? Or what will they give in return for their life?"

(Matthew 16:24-26)