Failure.
I hate it.
I'm confident you do too.
Why do we fail? Why do we have to stumble? Why do we make such a mess of things? Every one of us can look back at devastating defeat, unbelievable stumbles, tragic mistakes, and stupidity laced sin. Why, oh why, becomes our heart cry.
I know better. Hindsight is so much clearer that the cloudiness of that one confusing moment, when we made the wrong choice.
Failure.
I hate it.
You do too.
So why do we let it define us if we hate it so? Why do we even call ourselves by the name of our sin and brokenness? We do, you know. We wear the label of our sin to define who we are. I'm an adulterer. I'm a liar. I'm a thief. I'm unfaithful. I am a cheat. I am gay. I am a racist. I'm filled with greed. I'm an abuser. I'm a drunk. I'm a divorcee. I am bitter. I am a gossip. I am untrustworthy. I am selfish. I am judgmental. I am an addict. I am undependable. I'm a promise breaker. I am _____________________. (You can fill in the blank just in case I missed your "failure label").
Listen, the clear message of the gospel is this: You are MORE than your Failure! That's why God sent His son to rescue you. You are more. That's why Jesus willingly took up His cross-YOU are more! That's why He implanted the Holy Spirit in you as a deposit guaranteeing your salvation. You ARE more! That's why your sin is removed from you as far as the east is from the west. You are MORE! And that's why God doesn't call you by a name that defines you by your failure. That's why He gives you a new name.
I love Isaiah 62:2, "And you will be given a new name by the LORD's own mouth."
Failure.
It is only a reminder that we need a new name. And God himself speaks that new name. He calls us forgiven, whole, mended, clean, justified, redeemed, holy, his child.
So why do we obsess over our failure? Well, because we still see it. We look into the mirror of our lives and we see the evidence. And the adversary whispers into our hearts, "your failure is still there-that's who you are."
And we fear, he is right.
But let me tell you what you ought to see when you see the fault-lines of failure in you.
2 Corinthians 4:6-10 says:
6 For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God's glory displayed in the face of Christ.
7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 8 We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 10 We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.
We are "jars of clay". We are broken jars of clay. We are broken jars of clay that have the light of Jesus Christ in our hearts.
And you know what, the light shines brightest through the cracks.
Some one once read that passage and observed, "Hey that means we are all cracked pots!" True.
And the light shines best through the cracks.
Failed? Broken? Shattered?
You are not defined by the scars of your failure-but God's grace and love will shine most brightly through you right at the spot of your failure, weakness and brokenness-if you let Him, and if you believe that He has truly given you a new name.
Today take some time to pray a prayer of thanks for God's grace in your failure. Take time to praise God for the healing and wholeness that he has brought thus far to your broken places. Take some time to ask God to let His light shine through your cracks.
Don't try to cover it up-let Him shine through.
And then take some time to pray that God would shine brightly through the other cracked pots at New Work Fellowship.
(Yep, that's right. I said it.)
Remember, You are MORE than your Failure! We all are, by the grace of God.
