At the gym in the morning, I often overhear good-natured banter, mostly between the guys. Call it male bonding or whatever, but there is a competitive edge that comes out which would probably be demoralizing to ladies, who typically encourage one another, help with a new exercise or explain something they’ve learned or ask about health and family. Not so the men in the crowd. Testosterone calls for posturing. Recently, I heard this good-natured(?) comment within earshot of its intended target: “Even though he knows he’s a failure, he refuses to give up. That’s commendable. (requisite smirk)” See what I mean? This is definitely not woman to woman conversation! That remark has made me think how different God’s interaction is with us! He knows that failure is one of the biggest fears men have; not being strong enough, not being smart enough, not being tall enough (!) not having what it takes, not being worthy of a coveted relationship. It is also one of the most frequent of the enemy’s hideous lies, hissed into our ears.
So, this, and every, stumbling block to a happy and successful discipleship is tops on God’s radar. The entire message of the Gospel clearly tells of our helpless condition, our enslavement to sin, our total need of rescue. But the Gospel is 100% good news, not just as a catchy title, but in its entirety. In other words, there is no ‘fine print’ to be discovered later. There is no hellfire and brimstone waiting to catch us unawares. There is no ‘other shoe’ ready to drop on our heads over the parapets of heaven. We are chosen though undeserving, loved though unlovable, adopted, though not blue blood. God sees all this and invites us to Himself anyway because he IS Love. He permanently erases the specter of failure and every other roadblock by the potency of His love.
More than that, God ‘rehabs’ us out of our previous condition, making each of his children an extreme makeover. His desire is that, as we live in His Son, we will grow steadily towards a full confidence in Him, reflecting all Jesus’ character traits as displayed in the Gospels. To make that a reality, He establishes us in ‘families,’ to strengthen and encourage one another, to build one another up, to pick one another up when we’ve fallen, to pray and worship and fellowship together. Failure? Not a concept found in God’s vocabulary. Not heard at the gym. He is our confidence-builder. PD
