Friday, November 08, 2013
What You Hug
Jonathan Parnell @ DG:
The problem with such an approach is that it is presumptive of God's grace. But grace is a gift - one God did not have to grant, nor continue to grant.
When we embrace weakness, we must also embrace gratitude. We must be wholly and eternally grateful for the gifts we are given to assist us in our weakness.
gratitude weakness
God’s wisdom gives us another picture. Believers in Jesus don’t have an Achilles’ heel — we are an Achilles’ heel.I understand what Parnell is up to here, and I agree with him, particularly when he gets into the consequences of "embracing weakness." However, too often I have seen people embrace too much stuff with weakness. They embrace hopelessness; they embrace laziness; they embrace cheap grace. In other words, in coming to understand their dependence on God, they just stop trying. They "wait on the Lord" to the point of lethargy.
Here’s what I mean: Greek mythology shows us an invincible warrior with one weakness that when exploited leads to defeat; Christian reality shows us a dependent servant with thorough weakness that when exploited leads to triumph.
[...]
The context, of course, determines the specific meaning of weakness, but every use is connected back to the general idea of deficiency. If there were one broad explanation for weakness, it would be to lack. Weakness means we don’t have what it takes. It means we are neither sovereign nor omniscient, nor invincible. We are not in control, we don’t know everything, and we can be stopped. Weakness means that we desperately need God. And the plea for my own soul, and for yours, is that we would embrace weakness, not despise it.
The problem with such an approach is that it is presumptive of God's grace. But grace is a gift - one God did not have to grant, nor continue to grant.
When we embrace weakness, we must also embrace gratitude. We must be wholly and eternally grateful for the gifts we are given to assist us in our weakness.
gratitude weakness
