Perhaps you’ve heard it before: God does not call those who are equipped, He equips those whom He has called. This little Christian aphorism is attributed to the British evangelist Smith Wigglesworth but has since been echoed by many a Christian leader and pastor.

I heard it again this morning but luckily my spiritual either/or radar was on high alert. Do I have to choose one of those? Certainly God does equip those whom he calls. Bezalel and Oholiab come to mind. And Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 1 that God even deliberately chooses things that are not to put to shame the things that are.

But does that mean that God never chooses those who are equipped? Is it a coincidence that Paul just happened to be a Roman citizen (very handy for mission work), religiously zealous, and an expert in the Scriptures? It seems perfectly reasonable to me to conclude that Paul was specially chosen by God because he was in part already equipped and God further equipped him for the task of carrying His name before the Gentiles.

If I am already equipped to do something, then should I assume God won’t call me to do it? If God calls me to do something, ought I to assume that I am not currently equipped to do it? You can see the point. Memorable adages can be helpful, but there’s a limit to their usefulness.