His Grace is Sufficient

I think we get confused by who the Biblical characters were. We read scripture and see them as these outsized giants that we could never measure up to. They are heroes. Men and women of valor, who were far beyond anything we could ever achieve. 

Look at the Hall of Faith in Hebrews 11. Noah got drunk, got embarrassed, and cursed his family to be at war with each other. Abraham betrayed his wife multiple times, lacked a backbone, and insisted on taking their lives into his hands. Sarah offered up her enslaved girl to be a surrogate, got upset when she had the kid, and then exiled her and Ishmael to the wilderness to die. Moses had anger problems and killed a man. You get the point. 

God has a track record of using very imperfect people to accomplish his purposes. This isn’t an Old Testament thing either. Jesus’ apostles were a ragtag bunch of guys. Nobody comes into the faith with a perfect clean record ready to be used. 

The truth is that we are brought in and transformed by Jesus. 

Working Through It

In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul describes being afflicted with a thorn in his flesh. He prayed three times for God to take it away and in the end, these are the words he received: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

Paul was afflicted with something, he says he was tormented by it. Think about what it means to be tormented by something. Haunted. Day in and day out suffering. We have no idea what it is. 

The larger matter for us today is whatever we are facing or dealing with or struggling with or going through, it does not preclude us from being used by God. It does not preclude us from being recipients of his mercy. Romans 8 says that we are held in his hands and nothing can pluck us from them. I like to believe that includes our own feeble attempts to do so. 

It also means that we can’t just turn in on ourselves.

I love the story of Epaphroditus in Philippians 2. Paul describes him as being sick to the point of death and yet even in that, his concern and longing was for the church. He is near death and at the front of his mind is the wellbeing of his Church family. Suffering usually gives us an excuse to be selfish and to only think of ourselves but life is bigger than us and our moments. 

There’s some beauty in that. A lot actually. God can take our very worst and still use it for his glory. 

There’s another lesson in that: all truth is God’s truth and the imperfection of the vessel doesn’t change that. 

I think about this often. In a world where we watch the great failures of leaders, it’s easy to question everything. If they were instrumental in our lives and failed so tragically, then what does that say about us? About our personal faith journeys? What does that say about what we believe?

Our faith isn’t contingent on the faithfulness of our earthly leadership but on the faithfulness of Jesus. Our leaders today, just like those in the hall of faith are fallen and broken people whose leadership, skills, giftings, and abilities were designed to point to the King. 

Of my many unpopular opinions, I have a deep amount of empathy for fallen leaders. To have all of your work and good deeds reduced to your lowest moments sucks. And that is not to excuse or condone anything. Wrong is wrong, there is no doubt. And there is a hierarchy of grievances. 

But I wonder, how often do we take a step back and ask: what led them to this place? Do we pray for them, especially those who have hurt us, that they could experience God’s sufficient grace?

Consider that proposition when we remember that we are no better than them, our mess just didn’t play out publicly. One pastor I like used to say: put all of your thoughts from the last 48 hours on the big screen, who amongst us will walk out of here with our heads up?

I Need More

I can’t spend my time looking at the shortcomings of others because I’ve got all of my own mental and emotional mess. What I need each day is to feel and understand how God’s grace is sufficient for me. Out of that sufficient grace, I want to live with gratitude and empathy, and in service to others. 

I don’t ever want to assume or think that the grace that is sufficient for me is somehow not good for others. And if that is true, then how can I live a life that shows more grace to the people around me?

Tim Keller once said: the more you see your own flaws and sins, the more precious, electrifying, and amazing God’s grace appears to you. 

I want to know how I can grow in the type of humility that allows me to see the humanity in other people, even in their lowest moments, because that’s what I want in mine. 

No matter where we find ourselves, what we’re going through, and how far we’ve fallen; we can find, if we turn, if we trust - that his grace is sufficient.