My teammates and I recently started reading the book "Follow Me" by David Platt, together. I like David Platt. I like his writing style and the way he makes me have to think. And since I knew I would probably end up reading this book in the future (As I tend to read every book ever written by my favorite authors), it worked out perfectly to start it with my team!
One of the things I like most about Platt's writing is that he always comes up with these metaphors and/or stories, that either I have never thought of before, or if I had, I never thought of them to the depth in which he describes them. In the second chapter alone he shares three such metaphors/stories...
The first one is about adoption. Now, all of us who have grown up in the church or have been church committed for any number of years, knows that we are adopted by God as His children. But in the book Platt talks about going to pick up his own adopted son in Kazakhstan and how while he and his wife had loved this kid for years prior (without even knowing him) and how they did all the work to be able to adopted him, their son didn't do anything and prior to them showing up to take him home, he didn't even know them. This is just like us and our relationship with God! As the Bible says, He knew us before He formed us...He loved us before we even came into being. God even did all the work to make sure that we could spend eternity with him! We did nothing, he did it all! As the book also illustrates, we were dead in our sin and dead people can't do anything (but that's a whole nother blog!).
The second story he tells is about a discussion he had with a taxi driver about what would happen if he disrespected him, his family, his boss, the police, the king! As the driver responded the "penalties" of such transgressions got bigger and bigger until finally he said, "You'd be killed!" (mind you this was in a non-western country!). The point he was making is that the weight of sin is dependent on who you are sinning against! Now, for me, I tend to look at my sin sometimes and think "I didn't mean it" or "Well I didn't do anything that bad". I justify my sin based on me, how I was feeling, what I really meant or what I did. But if the weight of my sin isn't based on me, or even on what I did, but on the one whom I have sinned against, that changes everything! For me, that openness my eyes to see how I've hurt God, how I've offended Him, what His thoughts and feelings must be....and that brings true repentance in me.
The final story (although not the last story in the Chapter...I don't think), is about the first conversation he has with his translator when he went to go pick up his son in Kazakhstan. The translator asked him what he does for a living and he responded that he was a pastor. The translator, in response, shared how she felt religion is for the weak! And David responded, "I know. I am weak!". I love this story so much because the truth is, I am weak too.....I just hate to admit it! I grew up in the United States....it was ingrained in me from the time I was little never to show weakness! I don't like people to see my weaknesses, to point them out to me....and I certainly don't like being the one to tell others that I am weak. But God already knows I am weak and that I need Him....and deep down I know it too. So when we admit to God our weakness, we actually step into strength....His strength. It's one of those upside-down, backwards kingdom principles we all know about but just don't line up with what we see in the world around us. Weakness is admitting you can't do it....and that's so contrary to what the would tells us to do... but in so doing it we find the one who can and who did do it all! People who don't admit their need for God will never come to Him! If we never show our weakness before God, if we always try to act like we have it together, why would we ever turn to Him?! So yes....God is for the weak....and that is a good thing, considering that I too am weak!
Anyway, I definitely didn't do as well of a job as Mr. Platt in explaining the impact of these stories....and for that reason all I can do is point you to the book and tell you to read it for yourself.... but really I guess what I wanted to do with this blog post is write down what I have been learning so that I can look back on it when I start to forget. So yeah, this is a reminder to me....but hopefully this is also a reminder to you! God chose to adopt and loved us from the beginning of time. He did all the work, even going so far as to send His son to die for our sins so that we could still spend eternity with Him inspite of our unrighteousness! When we sin, we are sinning against God, first and foremost (as of course we are also sinning against others and/or ourselves). The truth of that statement....of whom we are transgressing against....should matter to us, should make a bigger difference, should lead us to repentance. And finally it's okay to be weak, because it's only in admitting our weakness that God can enter in and show us just how strong He is! Amen
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