Some examples?
In the Old Testament: Noah - drunk & naked; Moses - rage & murder; Abraham & Sarah - liar liar; David - adultery & murder ---most of these things are detestable, even by today's standards!
In the New Testament Jesus loved and was followed by disciples who displayed in-fighting, selfishness, malice, unbelief, betrayal etc. etc. Others who jump out at me...the woman at the well & the woman caught in the act of adultery.
These were all real people like me...like you. They had their strengths, weaknesses and a desire to know and love God. Some lived in miserable circumstances, some made terrible choices, stepped in a lot of messes and some seem hopeless when you really examine their stories; but they were never beyond the forgiveness and love God offers.
My sin doesn't frighten Him. In the book I'm currently reading, Messy Spirituality, Michael Yaconelli puts these thoughts into words so well.
"Jesus is not repelled by us, no matter how messy we are, regardless of how incomplete we are. When we recognize that Jesus is not discouraged by our humanity, is not turned off by our messiness, and simply doggedly pursues us in the face of it all, what else can we do but give in to his outrageous, indiscriminate love?...
...We are a mess. None of us is who we appear to be. We all have secrets. We all have issues. We all struggle from time to time. No one is perfect. Not one. (I have just paraphrased Romans 3:10.) The essence of messy spirituality is the refusal to pretend, to lie, or to allow others to believe we are something we are not. Unfortunately, people can handle the most difficult issues more easily than they can handle the lack of pretending....
When we seek God, Jesus begins to take shape in our lives. He begins a good work in us, he starts changing us, but the finishing process is a more-than-a-lifetime process. The work of God in our lives will never be finished until we meet Jesus face to face. The author of Hebrews wrote, 'Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter [or finisher] of our faith.' Spirituality isn't about being finished and perfect; spirituality is about trusting God in our unfinishedness."
God's irrational love for me is starting to take on a shape I can recognize. I can believe it and trust it even while I still don't completely understand it. And a good friend said to me today at our Prayer Group, "...and you probably never will until you see Him."
4 comments:
From someone who grew up in a "high-performance, low-nurture" household, constantly chasing after acceptance, and still feel that chase going on inside of me most days when I wake up in the morning, THANKS. I was just pondering the other day (don't know if God put it in my brain or not) how we'll never be "finished" until we see Him face to face. Great quotes. Thanks again.
zeph...
You are very welcome. And thanks so much for your comment.
"chase" - that is such a good way of putting it. It reminded me that chasing isn't wrong...it's what I chase after that gets me into trouble! I Cor. 9:24 & 2 Tim. 4:7 talk about the "race" or for what we're talking about here - how-to and the-end-result-of the right kind of chase.
Thanks again for your encouragement.
Yes!!!
I am a broken, imperfect woman. But I am not beyond the reach of a gracious and merciful God.
Many days I have wondered why He chooses to love me. I'm learning to stop asking the question and just be thankful that HE DOES!
He knows what we need, and He will bring the things into our lives which are necessary to make us holy - the women He wants us to be. Won't see the results this side of heaven, but we can trust in our good God!
Thanks for this post!
From one irritable mom to another...thanks!
"He knows what we need, and He will bring the things into our lives which are necessary to make us holy - the women He wants us to be." - so where can I get your book?? :) I'm guessing that info. is on your site and I'll head there right now...
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