We Have At Least One Thing in Common:
We Have All Failed at Something
Hopefully, our failure may not have been as severely consequential as failing to scale a building then falling to that sudden stop. Looking into the scriptures and reading about the men and women Jesus encountered help me see how much He loved them and loves me. Knowing how those early followers struggled, fell, failed, and misunderstood lets me know I am in good company. I too have struggled, fallen, misunderstood, or simply not comprehended some very important truths.
Jesus was patient and kept pursuing relationships with them until they got it, started over, repented, or simply trusted Him in spite of their circumstances. He has been loving and patient with me too. We both know that some never came to faith and died without repentance or forgiveness.
The high school student who asked me, “Mr Lewis, is there something wrong with me? Am I weird?”, was sincere in her query. Other students treated her differently and were at times rude to her because of her personality differences. When I prayed in the seconds following that question, God gave me the appropriate answer. I said, “The truth is that the only normal person who ever lived was Jesus, and the rest of us are weird with our quirks, idiosyncrasies, and mistakes.” So, we all fall into the category of weird or unusual and therefore have no right to look down on others as unacceptable to us or to God.
Have you ever had someone in your life let you know that you were loved and wanted even after you’d failed at something, come up short of others expectations or even of your own expectations? Has there been a time when someone came to you with loving acceptance after you failed to fit in, make the team, win the prize, or be accepted into a place where you’d really worked hard to make the grade?
Jesus accepted me when I came to Him for salvation and forgiveness knowing in my heart that I had messed up, was a sinner with a long list of failures, and that I could not earn my way into heaven or into the family of God. When I came to Jesus in faith trusting that if I placed my faith in Him and asked Him, He’d forgive me and accept me into His family. He has paved the way for my acceptance into God’s family by taking my sin, shame, and failure onto Himself and dying on the cross. He took the penalty for my failures and sins onto Himself allowing His body to be whipped and crucified and His blood to be spilled out.
My response is to express faith in Him, receive Him, believe He is the only Savior and God’s only begotten Son. Ephesians 2:8-10 tells the story of grace, faith, and the resulting works of a changed life.
Does Jesus accept failures? Yes, He accepts me. Now, I have the honor of accepting and caring for others who fall short of His glory, as I have done. Investing in “failures or people who have failed” is a privilege that is messy and hard, but it is worth it. Jesus wanted us “failures” so badly that He paid the highest price for us to be saved. Now, I am not a failure – though I was one. I am forgiven, free, wanted, known, and loved.
Carol and I are simply being called to invest in people who are just like us….forgiven sinners who now have a new identity as children of the King of Kings. Many people, who have not come to faith yet, need to know they can come. Many people who have come to trust Jesus still don’t know they have a new identity and can live for the future with Him rather than be stuck in the past.