Reading as an Adult (Or, Can God Really Use Me?)
When I was a child, reading Bible stories of Abraham, David, Solomon, etc., these men stood out as people out of legend, mythical in their magnitude, spotless in their retelling (with few exceptions as cautionary stories, a la Samson and Delilah, David and Bathsheba, etc).
As an adult, especially as one with an interest in child/cognitive development theory, I see the ways in which I applied simplistic, concrete, either-or thinking to these historic individuals. As Paul wrote, "When I was a child, I thought as a child." Reading through Genesis today, I am better able to see the flaws in these men and women.
Take Abraham, for example: Twice, he tried to pass his wife off as his sister instead of trusting God to protect them, twice incurring the wrath of the rulers of the countries they were dwelling in. In his haste to have the son promised to him by God through his wife, he jumped the gun and got his wife's servant pregnant. Abraham, truly, was not perfect. In fact, the common theme running throughout his entire history is the fact that God committed to being his God. There was nothing Abraham did to warrant it; the only thing he had going for him was his faith demonstrated through obedience.
Bringing that into focus today: very often, I'm guilty of acting and living as though, because of my flaws and sin, my ability to be used by God has expired, that the best I can do anymore is try and repair the cracks and attempt to go about my daily life holding my head up. That's not the Gospel. The Gospel is that God Himself did the work of repairing and covering the cracks and that, through His forgiveness and through the correcting work of His Spirit, those who cling to him in faith and obedience are made right before Him, are used by Him for His purposes, and can walk with their heads held high before His presence.
So, yes. God really can use me.
As an adult, especially as one with an interest in child/cognitive development theory, I see the ways in which I applied simplistic, concrete, either-or thinking to these historic individuals. As Paul wrote, "When I was a child, I thought as a child." Reading through Genesis today, I am better able to see the flaws in these men and women.
Take Abraham, for example: Twice, he tried to pass his wife off as his sister instead of trusting God to protect them, twice incurring the wrath of the rulers of the countries they were dwelling in. In his haste to have the son promised to him by God through his wife, he jumped the gun and got his wife's servant pregnant. Abraham, truly, was not perfect. In fact, the common theme running throughout his entire history is the fact that God committed to being his God. There was nothing Abraham did to warrant it; the only thing he had going for him was his faith demonstrated through obedience.
Bringing that into focus today: very often, I'm guilty of acting and living as though, because of my flaws and sin, my ability to be used by God has expired, that the best I can do anymore is try and repair the cracks and attempt to go about my daily life holding my head up. That's not the Gospel. The Gospel is that God Himself did the work of repairing and covering the cracks and that, through His forgiveness and through the correcting work of His Spirit, those who cling to him in faith and obedience are made right before Him, are used by Him for His purposes, and can walk with their heads held high before His presence.
So, yes. God really can use me.
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