It had been just a common branch or a typical young tree trunk. If you had seen it growing you would probably have overlooked it. Presumably it had grown and endured the harsh environment of the wilderness for many years. But then one day a man had come. He had taken a sharp instrument and cut it down. Most likely that man had held it and even tested its durability before he began to slowly craft this piece of wood into a staff that would fit his height and hand. When he had finished it was still just a piece of wood but now it was usable by a shepherd.
It was probably years later when a shepherd with one of those staffs was encountered by God. God told the shepherd to throw his staff on the ground. When he did it became a serpent. Then God told him to pick up the serpent by the tail and when the shepherd obeyed the snake returned to being his sturdy staff.
Later God commanded that shepherd to tell his brother that he should stretch his staff over the water. Whether the shepherd loaned his staff to his brother or whether his brother was to use his own staff is not particularly important to our discussion. What is significant is that suddenly the water became blood. At God's instruction, when this staff struck the ground, the dust changed into lice. God told the shepherd to hold up his wooden tool as a visible means for calling up a terrible hail storm and later as a means for bringing clouds of locusts riding upon the wind. As incredible as it may seem, after these events God instructed the shepherd to stretch out this staff over a sea and suddenly a strong wind arose that blew so hard all night long that it actually divided the sea in half.
The story of Israel's exodus from Egypt may involve one or two pieces of wood, namely the staff of Moses and the staff of Aaron. Exodus 4:1-3; 8:5-6; 10:12-13 Whether one or two, the wood was not any different from any other piece of wood which someone might have found in a wilderness or forest. What made this wood significant was God had used it for His purposes.
Similarly, all people are valuable because they are made in the image of God, but a person's life becomes significant when that life is under the Lord's control by belonging to God and fulfilling those purposes God has for human life. Neither fame, nor monuments erected to celebrate someone, nor grand receptions in someone's honor, nor even having one's name inscribed on a building can make a person truly important. True importance comes when the Eternal Creator places his seal of ownership upon us and inscribes our names in His book of life.
If you belong to God then you are important whether you work on a computer, ride a bike to school or a tractor in the field, wash dishes or serve as a manager, or type letters or sell car parts. But without God's ownership, you are just another drop in the sea of humanity trying to make your mark on a very temporary canvas.
Barry Newton, Copyright © 2003
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