Flawed, Messy People
Growing up with 10 brothers and sisters had its advantages. One of the better ones is that there was always enough of us around to get a board game or card game going. So we would spend many afternoons and evenings playing all sorts of games.
However, as competitive as we were, more often than not, the game would stall out because someone got angry or hurt and would storm off. Even worse, some of those times the game board would have been flipped or playing cards shoved from the table rendering the game unable to continue on.
Sadly, too many of those times ended with me being the culprit. I might have felt justified at the time because of the ridiculousness of one of my siblings, but after things settled down I would be left feeling ashamed and sheepish.
Although I was wrong and even felt bad, my pride would often still prevent me from hearing correction or instruction. Instead of being humbled, I would double-down on insisting that I was not the problem. My sin, followed by remorse, followed by more sin would keep me from maturing.
So I know this passage from God’s Word would have bothered me if anyone dared to apply it to my proud heart.
1 Corinthians 1:26-29 (NIV)
“Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not —to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him.”
Riddled throughout Scripture, God used the lowly, meek, humble, and responsive people to accomplish His plan. Jesus did not come to empower the self-righteous, proud, arrogant people. In fact, Jesus called normal, flawed, messy people to reveal himself to the world.
This always amazes me. Maybe it is because I see how flawed I am. Maybe it is because I know that we are messy, broken people. But Jesus wants to use US to display His love and grace to the world.
2 Corinthians 12:9-10 (NIV)
“But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. ” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
If our goal at New Life is to really be used by God, to reach more people for Christ, to declare the love of Jesus to the world – then we should delight when we are humbled, when we encounter our weaknesses, when we receive loving correction. This is God working through us to break through barriers in our own hearts AND the hearts of the strong-willed, resistant people in our life. Our humility beckons the proud to relent to the only One who is worthy of that much praise.
Our weaknesses, including all our messy flaws, shows the self-strong who truly has the might and strength. For it is that unwavering, mighty love that endured the cross so that guilty, broken people can be restored through Jesus!