Underdogনমুনা

ESTHER / JESUS

Undervaluing people based on their origin or ethnicity is always a sensitive issue. It’s created tension between people for as long as I can remember. Interestingly, these tensions and ethnical underdogs are really nothing new. Let’s take a look at a couple of examples from Scripture.

Esther became the queen of the most powerful empire on Earth and she faced strong opposition. Opposition that could have ended in genocide against her own life and her people. God used a Jewish girl in a pagan environment to save the lives of many. God used her despite her "unpopular" origin.

Furthermore, Jesus himself experienced some kind of discrimination. When he was calling his disciples to follow him, he invited Philip to join Him in the Great Commission. Full of enthusiasm, Philip went and shared the good news about Jesus of Nazareth with Nathanel. Now, pay close attention to Nathanel’s response: “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” So, Jesus himself, the Messiah, the King of Kings was discriminated against because of his origin. In His wisdom, God selected a little town in Israel to be the hometown of His beloved Son.

So whether your ascendance is European, Hispanic, African-american or any other, God can and wants to use you for incredible things. He is not limited by a person’s origin. In fact, the greater the limitations, the more glory will give to God. The important thing to remember is that even if you have been discriminated against, those words or actions do not define your value. Jesus did. On the Cross!