This Letter was written by David C., used with permission.
The Army has a saying “embrace the suck”. I think for me, a good saying in the Christian life would be “embrace the brokenness”. We seem to be on a continual journey to improve, get better, fix stuff, shape up, get it right, etc.
Paul’s comment is 2Corinthians 4:7, “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves.”
There will always be a qualitative difference of the glory of God expressed within us and the flesh in which it is contained. My desire is for personal glory. I want people to look at my life and ooh and ah. It is sin of course. John the Baptist had it right when he said, “He must increase but I must decrease”. We live in a narcissistic culture in which everything is about the person, their success, their glory, their accomplishments. It is the Holy Spirit who helps us lift our eyes to Jesus and ascribe to Him glory and honor. I like Psalm 115:1 “Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to Your name give glory, because of Your loving kindness, because of your truth”.
It leaves me with 2 goals.
One, is not to attempt to fix my brokenness for my glory. I have flaws and brokenness that will be with me as I come into the presence of Jesus. If I were to write a book, I would title it, “The Fellowship of the Broken”. Some are more “healthy” than others but all are broken in some way. Some things God works on, some He fixes, but most remain so that His glory might be displayed. 2Corinthians 12 is a good read. If anyone had a reason for confidence and was sharp…it was Paul. Yet he comes to the place where he will boast in his weaknesses.
Two, is to ascribe to the Lord the glory that is due His name. I will speak of the goodness of the Lord, His majesty, His works, His power, His coming kingdom all the days of my life as He gives me grace. Psalms 29 and 96 say basically the same thing, “Ascribe to the Lord the glory that is due His name”. What do we talk about? What speech fills our time? What is our agenda? No one gets it right all of the time of course.
J3Khai.fun 