I failed!
Have you ever felt this way? Please refer to last week’s post wherein I requested possible volunteer opportunities for a friend of mine.
See: https://www.evernote.com/shard/s478/nl/93885036/c8d28fe2-ce19-c629-7bcc-dbbcc318bf19/
I scurried around and found a possible place of service for him that I thought might be worth following up. I made some calls, and then proudly (yet humbly) emailed him back with the info.
Somewhat to my surprise, he wrote me back that helping plant a church wasn’t really his thing. He didn’t believe that his left-leaning political views and very “liberal” theology (whatever that is) would serve him well in Alabama. He said that he’d contact the pastor I suggested, but he did not think this work was for Him. He said he was more into hands-on service “like the Red Cross or something like that.”
It appears that I have failed in my objective, but… what does one do about one’s failures?
It’s easy to say, “Just turn it over to God. We’re not responsible for the results, we just give the message and pray.”
Of course, that is true, and as far as my friend is concerned, that’s exactly what to do. But, as with most things in life, I suspect there’s more to it than that. Have you ever heard it said that “life is not checkers, it’s three – dimensional chess?”
There are a multiplicity of issues with my friend. If I may presume to speak for that majority of evangelical Christendom, we Christians believe that if my friend truly hasn’t turned his life over to Jesus, he’s heading in the wrong direction. While that may or may not be the case, there are two things I can do. First, pray for him. Second, gently attempt to give him the Gospel and let the Gospel work in him.
But, that’s not the subject of today’s note. Another dimension of this problem (remember, this is “three – dimensional chess”) is my response and my reaction. How do I feel about it? In truth, what is my principal emotion?
Well, I feel for him, and I hope he gets on the right track, but I am also disappointed. More than that, (here we get to the bottom of the bottle) I am embarrassed about the situations. I have chronicled this case and my involvement. I feel that I have failed.
Counting the number of I’s in the previous paragraph yields 7. (Seven is the number of completeness. Hmmm, hold that thought.)
Another level of this problem reveals itself, my sin. The sin of “I.” The question arises then of how do I manage the sin in my life that wants to fix things, to “save” people, to appear to be spiritual. My friend may or may not have his own sin, but what do I do about mine? It’s an opportunity to learn and to grow.
I’m not the first to have the “Sin” issue. In point is the failure of the Disciples to cast out a demon soon after their experience on the Mount of Transfiguration. The account is found in Matthew 17.
14When they came to the crowd, a man approached Jesus and knelt before him. 15“Lord, have mercy on my son,” he said. “He has seizures and is suffering greatly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. 16I brought him to your disciples, but they could not heal him.”
17“You unbelieving and perverse generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me.” 18Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed at that moment.
19Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”
20He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” (NIV. )
May I suggest that their problem was my problem, the one named “iSin.” It may have been misplaced faith, ie, faith in their own power. Jesus said they had “little faith, ” little faith in Him, but not little faith in themselves. That sickness, that iSin afflicts me. The root of it is pride. When we are so full of ourselves, there’s no room for Jesus.
Of course, that “revelation” is not anything new. The question is how to move the revelation from truism to truth; authenticity to action. That’s where I’m bogged down. Perhaps, we could pin the label of “pride” on me, and perhaps I need to write it on a card and pin it to the Cross. What do you think?
For an excellent exposition on failure see Dr. Roger Barrier of Casas Church in Tucson, Arizona. he writes about the failures of the disciples around the time of Jesus’ passion:
johnthebaptist15 