2 Corinthians 12:9 NLT
My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.
None of us want to admit to a weakness. Our culture and society pushes us to be strong, never admitting we don’t have it all together. The crazy thing is, it’s not real. Every single one of us struggles with something. None of us has it completely together. So Christian or not, we are all a little bit of a hypocrite.
Isn’t that one of the main reasons non-Christians refuse to go to church? They think we are all hypocrites. And we ARE in one way or other. We all sin. We all fail. The difference is that we can go to Jesus – – confess, repent, be restored. And so – – we are not really hypocrites. We’re forgiven. Where we become hypocritical is when we lie about our confessed sin. It’s easy to go to God, accept restoration, but never own up and take responsibility for our words or actions.
The deal is, the world isn’t looking for us to be perfect. They are looking for people who are authentic – – real. They stand up and take notice when we own up to a transgression with words of apology. Unfortunately that scenario is a rarity. People don’t want to hear words of faith. They want to see it lived out in your life. When they see faith lived authentically, they become curious and may just decide that Jesus is worth a second look.
The thing is, if I’m honest, I’m not happy about my weaknesses, my failings, the chinks in my armor. I would really like to hide all that. Can’t I just keep it between Jesus and me? Um……..no, not if I’m serious about being real.
It’s the Velveteen Rabbit story. When the Velveteen Rabbit became real, his stitching was not intact, his fur was rubbed off in places. But, he was real. He was well loved. He was accepted as is. In fact, he was treasured. I want that. So I need to embrace the things in me that are less than. I must embrace being honest and authentic. It’s crucial for me to hold myself accountable and make apologies.
Bottom line – – I have to be all in with Jesus. I must totally believe 2 Corinthians 12:9. God’s grace is all I need. His power works best in my weakness. I must unconditionally trust Him.
I invite you to completely trust Him too. We aren’t wired to roll this way, but with God we can change. We can embrace the weakness instead of hiding it. If we are faithful to live authentically before others, it could lead to an opportunity to share what makes the difference in our life. We can share that it’s not a religion, it’s a relationship.
Lord – so much in me wants to hide my flaws and mistakes. Help me trust You completely. Give me courage to live authentically and be quick to apologize. Through this let others see You in me. – Amen