Strong, Brave, Loved by Holley GerthSample

Day Six

Good News for Broken People

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 12:9

I often work in coffee shops, where conversations swirl around me as thick as the scent of espresso. Most of the time I’m able to tune them out, but sometimes one makes my head snap up from my laptop. I’ve heard scandalous confessions of love, details of doctor’s appointments, and workplace complaints of all sorts. This morning I found myself the recipient of some unsolicited wisdom. 

A young man and his mentor sat next to me talking about faith. Apparently they’ve been meeting for a while, because the young man asked, “When am I going to be ready to help someone else?” 

The mentor paused and then answered, “I think you’re asking the wrong question. Because as long as you ask, ‘Am I ready?’ you’ll always be able to find a reason you’re not. A flaw. A struggle. Something you think you need to learn more about. The better question to ask is, ‘Have I received something?’ If so, then you have something to share. When is the best time to start passing it on? Yesterday.” 

I looked over for a second just to be sure he wasn’t talking to me. Because I have wondered this as well. Haven’t we all? Here is a secret of faith I’m learning: We never feel qualified. We never feel like professionals. We never feel like we’ve got it together enough to really make a difference. And maybe this is a good thing. Because the only folks who seem to have believed otherwise were the Pharisees. 

God is not looking for perfect examples. He’s looking for ordinary people who will love each other. He’s calling the messy, the broken, and the incomplete. This is good news for all of us. It means Jesus will give to us and then He’ll give through us. We’re simply asked to be willing and brave enough to do it as we are and not as we’d like to be. 

God, You show Your power in the most unexpected ways and people. Where we see weaknesses, You see opportunities. Thank You that we don’t have to be perfect to be used by You; we only need to be willing. Amen.