Tag Archives: redemption

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No one lives a perfect life. Each smile has a past, some darker than others.

I remember days of darkness. I remember telling my sister it felt like it followed me. I remember one Sunday night after church when I told my dad I was leaving and proceeded to do just that. I remember the despair and the hopelessness. I remember the tears.

I do not dwell on those days now. They are forgiven. They are replaced with days of light, days where I follow the Light instead of the darkness following me. But I have to think of them sometimes.

And when I think of them, I have to say thank You. Dark pasts do not become bright presents without the help of the Father. Sin is not forgiven without the cleansing blood of the Son. And victory does not remain without the presence of the Spirit.

So this is my thank You, to the One Who brought me from darkness to light. To the One Who continues to hold me.

"Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing: Thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness; to the end that my glory may sing praise to Thee, and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks unto Thee for ever." (Psalm 30:11-12)

He is so good.

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Why do God's people, formed in His image and indwelt of His Spirit, make mistakes? Why does He let them? Does He not realize the pain that failure inflicts upon them? Could He not better reveal His glory through them by making them perfect little specimens of Him?

There's one obvious answer, that being that in creating us in His image He gave us free will, the ability to choose. Even if we choose to do what's right, we are still human. And no matter how hard they try, humans fail. Trying doesn't always mean succeeding. Resolve can vanish in a moment, and before we know it, the tears are falling over an action that looked good at the time but revealed its true and faded colors later.

So God's people fail because in all reality they can't help it. But could there be a purpose behind our failures? A greater purpose that makes even the worst mistakes turn the portrait of life into something raw and beautiful and, yes, even glorious?

Perhaps while we are yet wallowing in our fallenness, the Father is whispering to us to look higher. . . ...continue reading →