When I am Weak - Then I am Strong

There is so much more I wanted to say - to say in some other way. This idea of a weakness becoming strength isn't understandable outside of a relationship with God. Without God we spend our time making ourselves, projecting an image to others. It means we have to be strong, forceful, confident (at least confident looking) without a hint of weakness. Definitely don't do things you can do but be confident in saying it.

On the other hand, with God it's not about us but about Him. There is no need to make ourselves and project an image. Instead we live to make God known and project His image through our lives. When I read the account in Luke 9 of what I call the "would-be disciples" I see a relevant call for our day:

57 As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go." 58 Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head." 59 He said to another man, "Follow me." But the man replied, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father." 60 Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God." 61 Still another said, "I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-by to my family." 62 Jesus replied, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.

So much of our discipleship is about us: our comfort, our convenience or commitment on our terms. A pastor friend of mine calls it "soft secular discipleship." It's discipleship on our terms, not on Jesus' terms. It's putting Jesus' ideas into our world view instead of adopting His world view.

God's plan is to use our weaknesses, to stretch our strengths, to move us out of our world and into the economy of heaven.

At Cornerstone I think we're living into that - never as fast as I'd like us to (I don't think anything in my life happens as quickly as I'd like it to except growing older and my children growing up). But I also think we struggle with this idea. We want a Christianity of comfort, convenience and commitment on our terms.

Take the building we're seeking to build for student ministries at Cornerstone. It will take sacrifice. It will mean prioritizing our personal finances to support the Kingdom of God. It will be uncomfortable, inconvenient and a commitment on His terms. But that's the way it is with God's ways. It's not about us.

The same can be found in every ministry area and in our lives at home and at work. There is a constant temptation to make God's call about us - first let me do this. No, Jesus says. The mission is too important to wait any longer.

Our weaknesses are the highways God uses for miracles. Perhaps it's the weaknesses of seeking our own comfort; of waiting for our own convenience; of defining commitment on our terms. To get onto Jesus' plan for discipleship will mean throwing ourselves on His mercy and asking for His grace and strength to follow His terms laid out for us.

Where are you weak? God is waiting with miracles for you to embrace your weakness, thrown yourself on your knees and passionately throw yourself into His mission. It's the best place in the world to be.