Facing the Flaws
"Afterward Jesus went up on a mountain and called the ones he wanted to go with him. And they came to him. Then he selected twelve of them to be his regular companions, calling them apostles. He sent them out to preach, and he gave them authority to cast out demons. These are the names of the twelve he chose: Simon (he renamed him Peter), James and John (the sons of Zebedee, but Jesus nicknamed them Sons of Thunder), Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James (Son of Alphaeus), Thaddaeus, Siomon (the Zealot), Judas Iscariot (who later betrayed him)." Mark 3:13-19 (NLT).
The men Jesus chose were seriously flawed people.
Peter was an uneducated fisherman who was impulsive, and constantly acting before he thought things through. Today we might diagnose him with ADHD! James and John had horrible tempers. When people opposed them, they wanted to strike them dead! Thomas was an unbelieving skeptic, and maybe a cynic. He must have been from Missouri, the "show me" state. If you didn't prove everything to him, he wouldn't believe it. Matthew was a thief who stole money from people, and threw wild parties. Simon wanted to kill Romans to liberate Israel. Judas was selfish and greedy. He kept the money for Jesus, and hoarded every penny.
Talk about flawed people! These guys were couch-bait for a psychiatrist! Okay, so maybe they weren't mentally unstable, but they definitely had some serious issues in their lives.
Yet, Jesus chose them. Why? Because he loved them, and saw past their flaws. He saw what these men could become with the power of God.
That's how God operates. He takes flawed people, loves them, leads them, and transforms them. If he didn't, none of us would ever make it to heaven.
We're all flawed.
I have so many flaws that I can't count them all. The longer I serve God, and the more I study his word, the more aware of my flaws I become. My wife Darla helps me see them too! She's usually nice about it, but sometimes she thumps my gourd! Of course, I deserve it, and she's nearly always right. After all, she has put up with me and all my flaws for over twenty-three years.
Let's see, though Im generally very positive, I can sometimes be critical and negative (depending on how many Mt. Dews I've had). I can be irritable and impatient sometimes, and too demanding of others. I am a driver, so I stay on a mission like a hound dog on a bone until it's done, however, I can drive right over people in the process if I'm not careful! So I have to practice sensitivity to others. Additionally, I worry too much. I tend to lie awake at night running things through my mind over and over until I get a headache (it's the weakness of a contemplative person). In fact, sometimes I am downright obsessed with thinking about things, instead of just trusting God. Sure, I pray without ceasing, and tell God I'm handing my worries over to him, but I keep taking them back! I still tend to hog the remote control for the television (it must be a "man thing"), and oh, yeah, I drink too much soda (even though I've cut back), and I sit in my easy chair when I should be exercising like I used to (usually I'm too exhausted to exercise).
The list of my flaws goes on and on and on and on. When God saved me, he said, "This one's going to take a lot of work, but let's give it a try!" The preacher was tempted to hold me under the water extra long during my baptism, hoping I would drown, or the Holy Spirit would have the needed extra time to wash me clean.
Thank God he saves and uses flawed people like me! Thank God he calls me to do his work despite my sins, my wrongs, my failures, and my shortcomings. Thank God he has transformed me so much already, and is willing to transform me more, to straighten out my flaws.
How about you? Have you faced your flaws? Will you let God use you despite them? Will you stop griping about other people because of their flaws, and start loving them instead?
Who knows, you may even have enough flaws to be an apostle - had you lived back then.