I once read the story of a young boy who was asked what he had been taught in Sunday School. “Well mum,” he said, “the teacher told us that God sent Moses behind enemy lines on a very dangerous mission. It seems that he responded to a text message and took a group of SAS soldiers into Egypt and rescued the people of Israel by building a pontoon bridge over the Red Sea.”

His slightly confused mother replied: “Come on Jamie, you’re pulling my leg. Tell me the truth. Mrs. Thomas didn’t really tell you all that did she?”

“Well, no mum,” he grinned, “but if I told you what she really said you’d never believe it.”

The story of Moses is a pivotal moment in Old Testament history. It began in a basket and ended on a mountain top, for in spite of being abandoned as a baby Moses became Israel’s supreme leader and lawgiver. He experienced many weird and wonderful things in his long and varied life, but for all that there was no more exciting moment than the day God called him into His service whilst standing in front of a burning bush.

Now when I read my Bible, I encounter a God who He plans to do something far more amazing than liberate a group of people from slavery, wonderful as that might be. He wants to rescue the whole universe from wickedness, sickness and death and, believe it or not He wants us to help Him.

I am convinced that every one of us is a masterpiece, shaped by a unique combination of God-given experience and abilities that make us useful to God. Now, like Moses, we often find excuses for not doing God’s will, but it would be nothing short of tragic if we missed out on our call to greatness.

Now few of us will become as famous as Moses, but God can use us no matter how ordinary we are. A. N. Wilson made this point in a national newspaper article he wrote a few years ago when he was describing his ‘return to faith.’ Having looked at all sorts of arguments for believing the Easter story, he suggested that one of the most powerful reasons for accepting its truth is ‘the way that Christian faith transforms individual lives - the lives of the men and women with whom you mingle on a daily basis, the man, woman or child next to you in church tomorrow morning.’ In other words, we may never become as famous as Moses, but in the big scheme of things we might prove as influential as that bush. And I’m not joking.

Rob James is a Baptist Pastor broadcaster and writer who currently operates as a church and media consultant for the Evangelical Alliance Wales. He is available for preaching and teaching throughout Wales and can be contacted at [email protected]