Thoughts and Theology: Being a failure

Friday, May 30, 2008

Being a failure

3 comments:

Dr. Russell Norman Murray said...: Failing does not make one a total failure, if one learns and grows from failing. It is even better to have God guiding one is the process of learning, as the person is in Christ. I have failed at times, and still wish I would have done better, but I put my life in God's hands.

A good clip.; May 30, 2008 at 6:48 AM
Jeff said...: Russ,

This is something which I continuously deal with in my own thinking. My late dad had a dominating personality, and believed that his way was the only way. He was emotionally oppressive, and I was always shy, timid, and never learned how to stand up for myself. Therefore, I grew up with an inferiority complex. Being the first born, I was also treated more strictly than my siblings. And now, my current boss at work is a stern perfectionist.

I wrote in my Bible one time, "I fail constantly; I am a failure; but Jesus never fails, and if I let Him work through me, it [i.e., whatever I'm doing] won't fail."

The Bible tells us that all have fallen short of the glory of God. Therefore, all of us have fallen short of the requirement for Heaven. In this sense, we are all failures, because we are all sinners. Most anyone should agree that none of us are perfect, and being imperfect means that we will fail at times.

People often try to tell me that I'm a good person, or that God sees me as good, or that I'm good and wonderful because God made me, or that God highly values me. But again, the Bible says that we are wicked sinners. My only hope is through Jesus Christ, and through Him I can do all things...not because of my strength (which is weakness), but through His strength. There is a Christian song which says that, even if I were the only person on earth, Jesus would have died for me. Some Christians say that Jesus died for you because He thinks you are extremely valuable. But that's not why He died. He died to bring glory to the Father, by redeeming a remnant. He died to fulfill the prophecy of the Messiah that the Father had made thousands of years before, and Jesus died to demonstrate that the Father is not only Just and Righteous and Wrathful and Holy, but is also Loving. It's not about us; its about God. Many American Christians today talk and act like God is here to serve us. But the opposite is true. We are here for His glory. He is not here to bring us pleasure. He is not a magic genie in the sky, here to fulfill our every wish. We were created for His glory, and for His pleasure. He has every right to do with us as He wills, for we are but mere creations of His. If He wanted to throw every one of us into Hell this very instant, He would have every right to do so, and He would be perfectly Just in doing so. But thanks be to God that He is a loving God, and a merciful God, and a patient God, and that He has chosen a remnant to save, and to demonstrate His love and mercy upon. For without that, we would all---every single one of us---be condemned to Hell, forever.; May 31, 2008 at 5:40 PM
Jeff said...: The Bible is full of failures.
Abraham lied about being married, and twice offered his wife in return for his own safety.
Jacob was a con artist who sold his birthright and deliberately deceived his father.
Moses was a murderer. And because of another sin he committed, God did not allow him to enter the Promised Land.
Rahab was a prostitute.
Noah got drunk one time.
Gideon worshiped idols.
David was an adulterer and murderer.
Peter denied Christ.
Thomas doubted Christ.

God uses imperfect people to accomplish His will.; June 1, 2008 at 12:45 AM

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