Dwight L. Moody gave this discerning and memorable summary of Moses life: In the first forty years, in Egypt, Moses learned to be a Somebody. In the second forty years, in the wilderness, Moses learned to be a Nobody. In the third forty years, he learned what God can do with a Somebody who is willing to be a Nobody.
This counterintuitive pattern God uses, is written as the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called but few chosen and the elder shall serve the younger and for he that is least among you all, the same shall be great. Even though this is the way God operates to bring glory to his name, we fight constantly against his plans. Students naturally fight against being last, preferring others first, serving others, and simply willing to be a nobody so that Jesus Christ will be magnified as the ultimate Somebody; for as the ultimate Somebody He made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men, and being found in fashion as a man, He humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
Our prayer is that God takes less than forty years for each of us to embrace our nobodiness, so we can display to the world our 24/7 need of Christs somebodiness.
