Men Like Us

by Edwin Crozier

According to legend, Zeus and Hermes had once visited the region of Phrygia seeking hospitality. House after house rejected them until they came to the home of an elderly couple, Philemon and Baucis, who served them the little food they had left. Zeus and Hermes rewarded the couple greatly and brought judgment on the rest of the region.

When Paul healed a crippled man, the people thought Zeus and Hermes had come among them again. They weren’t going to make the same mistake twice. They started to honor Paul and Barnabas as gods.

Paul and Barnabas went to great lengths to assure the people, “We also are men, of a like nature with you…” (Acts 14:14 ESV).

That’s the key I want to home in on today. I can tend to think Paul, Barnabas, and plenty of other folks in the Bible are some kind of special saints. I can put them on a pedestal as if they had a natural leg up on me. But Paul explains they are just like me. They have the same kind of bodies, the same kind of souls. They didn’t have some special advantage that made them faithful, while I’m just a normal schmoe doomed to fumble and falter all my days.

When we read about Paul, Barnabas, Peter, Abraham, Moses, David, Rahab, Mary, Jael, Abigail, and so many others, we are reading about people just like us. They faced difficulties and temptations. Sometimes, they failed tremendously. Sometimes they succeeded victoriously. All the while, they were facing life the same way we do.

If these normal people could choose faith in God. So can I. So can you.

Have you? If we can help you choose faith in God, let us know.