THE MARVEL OF FAITH IN GOD

So many opportunities brush past me for complete failure. The older I get the more instruction I receive from conscience of my pale feebility. I am worthy of nothing but stones....truly.

This, then, leads me to pause at the marvel of God. Give God your best, I am now convinced, was an Ishmael-like fleshly stab at serving God in strength during years gone by. While the phrase has a noble ring, it has a strong odor of self-assertion and self-accomplishment.

Just like Abraham taking charge via Hagar or Moses declining in reluctance God's first offers at freeing Israel, we tend to gauge opportunity upon our assessed contributional possibilities. And in step with Abraham being in grandfatherly years and Moses debating in resistance, we are at our best when we can't.

When I was first converted at age 23, one of the first sermons I heard was that we must bury our "can'ts". Today I think we need them to press us as God did both of these historical ambassadors to convince us through our failures that God is indeed both able and willing.

The marvel of faith in God is that He can do things with losers. Not all of God's stories reflected the brave Esther or the virgin Mary. He posed powerful potential in stammering, stuttering, idiotic followers who didn't know up from down in the true way of kingdom operations.

At this stage in my life, I am no different. And....neither is God. He is still doing His stuff through the scrambled messes of those like you and me. Faith in God....it is still very marvelous, don't you think?