The good, the bad, and the ugly

This past Wednesday, I was able to share my story in Connections. I have to tell you that I was more nervous than I have been in years. Very seldom do I get nervous about public speaking, but this past Wednesday I was very anxious as the evening approached.
I have to be honest, I wasn’t sure what kind of reaction I would receive. I knew that there were parts of my past that are very dark and other parts that are pretty humorous. I shared most everything, the good, the bad, and the ugly.
Thank you to those of you who came up to me afterwards with words of affirmation. I also want to thank those who sent me an email or a comment on Facebook.
I was reminded of something powerful this week. There is something about sharing your story.
To me, that is one of the most powerful aspects of the Bible. Many people look at the Bible as a list of rules and regulations to please a God who doesn’t really care about what we want. That is so counter to what the Bible really is.
In the Bible, we are introduced to the stories of hundreds of people whose lives, like mine, were full of the good, the bad, and the ugly. And while I shared my life with a few hundred people, billions of people have heard the stories of people like David and Peter. David, the “man after God’s own heart,” also violated half of the Ten Commandments in a matter of months. Peter denied Jesus three times shortly after declaring his allegiance to the Christ.
These two men, and dozens of others in the story of God’s people, accomplished much for the Kingdom of God in spite of their shortcomings.
The apostle Paul wrote, “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.” (2 Corinthians 12:9)
When we begin to look at the Bible as a collection of stories of imperfect people striving to grow closer to a perfect and loving God, maybe we can begin to see how God wants to turn our shortcomings into victories rather than telling us how bad we are.

shine!
Jason