"Rudolph"

Old Rudolph, they said, was different,

And it caused him lots of grief,

Ostracized, made fun of,

No way to find relief.

And if you’ve been unchosen,

Passed over, ostracized,

You’re quite a lot like Rudolph,

And if you’ve been despised,

You might be feelin’ hopeless,

Like you’ll always be left out,

But hang in there and hold on,

You’re what this story is about.

So, when a special need arose,

Required a special skill,

A foggy, dark old Christmas Eve,

No way the stockings fill.

But then Nick thought of Rudolph,

With that red and shiny nose,

Let him lead the sleigh that night,

And what do you suppose,

The thing that was the problem,

And caused him so much pain,

Became the thing that Santa used,

And his claim to fame.

And therein is the lesson,

That we all need to learn,

Sometimes what almost did us in,

God will use in turn,

To meet a need and lead the way,

When no one else will do,

The last shall really be the first,

And that last one’s you.

Jesus was rejected,

And then He led the way,

And we are never hopeless,

And when we hear, He’ll say,

You’re the one I’ve wanted,

And you’re the one I’ll use,

Not up to anybody else,

‘Cause it’s for Me to choose.

Never, ever doubt it,

Rudolph had his day,

And you’re time is coming,

‘Cause I will make a way.

“So those who are last now will be first then, and those who are first will be last…” (Matthew 20:16, NLT)

God’s Kingdom will be full of unlikely picks. The characters of the Christmas story illustrate this. The parents of the Messiah had no credentials, the shepherds even less, the Magi were foreigners, and Simeon and Anna were old and eccentric. God entered the world through the miraculously conceived egg of a woman, and born into this world as a helpless baby in a place no one would choose. It’s God’s way of doing things. And when we are disqualified, unfriended, and no one else’s choice, the Lord’s love picks us. The stars of the Kingdom don’t make many headlines now, but their day is coming…

Lord, help us celebrate Your choice of us, in Jesus’ name.

Art by Jack Sorenson, used by permission. Thanks, Jack, and God bless you.