Welcome to another day the Lord has made that we should rejoice and be glad in. (Psalms 118:24)

Today we’ll close out our draft discussion, looking at being the last player chosen.

In today’s scripture, Matthew 19:30 (NLT), Jesus said…
But many who are the greatest now will be least important then, and those who seem least important now will be the greatest then.

Consider…
I hope you have enjoyed walking through the parallels of the NFL draft and being chosen by God this week.

Today the draft will end. One final parallel the Holy Spirit gave me, is the incredible honor of being the last player chosen. That player is known as, ‘Mr. Irrelevant’.

Mr. Irrelevant was created by the late former USC and NFL receiver Paul Salata, who wanted to celebrate the final player picked, an underdog.

In 2022 this happened to be 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy. If his name sounds familiar, he was the NFC Champion’s starting quarterback in the last Superbowl.

Purdy describes himself as a “follower of Jesus” on Instagram and a “believer in Christ” on X.

In one of his Superbowl interviews, he explained that faith in Jesus, not fame or success, makes life worth living.

Needless to say, I am a big fan of his. I admit, I am a sucker for brothers and sisters in Christ, who publicly acknowledge Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior 🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾. (Luke 12:8)

In my appreciation of Mr. Irrelevant, the Holy Spirit reminded me of two individuals who were considered irrelevant in the Bible.

First, the greatest King of Israel, was considered irrelevant. We see that first, by the priest Samuel, in 1 Samuel 16:6‭-‬7 (ERV)…
When Jesse and his sons arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and thought, “Surely this is the man who the Lord has chosen.” But the Lord said to Samuel, “Eliab is tall and handsome, but don’t judge by things like that. God doesn’t look at what people see. People judge by what is on the outside, but the Lord looks at the heart. Eliab is not the right man.”

This is a great reminder that it’s the heart, not looking the part, that counts.

As we continue reading David’s selection story, we see even his own father thought he was irrelevant. 1 Samuel 16:10‭-‬13 (ERV), shares…
Jesse showed seven of his sons to Samuel. But Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen any of these men.” Then he asked Jesse, “Are these all the sons you have?” Jesse answered, “No, I have another son—my youngest, but he is out taking care of the sheep.” Samuel said, “Send for him. Bring him here. We won’t sit down to eat until he arrives.” Jesse sent someone to get his youngest son. This son was a good-looking, healthy young man. He was very handsome. The Lord said to Samuel, “Get up and anoint him. He is the one.” Samuel took the horn with the oil in it, and poured the special oil on Jesse’s youngest son in front of his brothers. The Spirit of the Lord came on David with great power from that day on. Then Samuel went back home to Ramah.

The Holy Spirit is emphasizing, that God chooses those who others deem irrelevant, to make Himself relevant to them. Which brings me to the other noteworthy Mr. Irrelevant, Jesus Christ.

John 1:45‭-‬46 (ERV) shares, one of his disciples initially questioned Jesus’ relevance…
Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the man that Moses wrote about in the law. The prophets wrote about him too. He is Jesus, the son of Joseph. He is from Nazareth.” But Nathanael said to Philip, “Nazareth! Can anything good come from Nazareth?” Philip answered, “Come and see.”

And in Jesus’ hometown, we see that He was dismissed as being just another kid from the neighborhood. Matthew 13:53‭-‬57 (ERV) shares…
When Jesus finished teaching with these stories, he left there. He went to the town where he grew up. He taught the people in the synagogue, and they were amazed. They said, “Where did this man get such wisdom and this power to do miracles? Isn’t he just the son of the carpenter we know? Isn’t his mother’s name Mary, and aren’t his brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas? And don’t all his sisters still live here in town? How is he able to do these things?” So they had a problem accepting him. But Jesus said to them, “People everywhere give honor to a prophet, but in his own town or in his own home a prophet does not get any honor.”

Wow, Jesus couldn’t get love where He grew up. 🤯. That’s a great reminder not to stress if others aren’t impressed with who God has chosen you to be. All that matters is who God says you are.

So the next time you’re tempted to see yourself as irrelevant, remember that just like Mr. Irrelevant, Brock Purdy, with God the last shall be first.

Today’s song is….
God Made Me

Blessings 4HG (1 Corinthians 10:31)