Sunday, October 2, 2011

What makes us strong

Last week I was selling hats. I don’t sell hats for a living. If I did they would have shut off my utilities a long time ago. I design them when I’m when I'm bored and then sell them to make people happy cover my designing expenses. The hat had only one word on it. 

One lady told me, “You’re an excellent designer. I want you to design apparel for my youth group.” That was nice of her to say. With her patronage I may get my water back.
So the word on the hat was "Strength". Strength Wear. Wear Strength. The point is you don’t need a lot of words to inspire.  You just need one word that means a lot to you. Just as you don't need a lot of people to inspire you either. Sometimes just one good person will do.  
"Strength" is important to me, almost romantically important, because like the pearl from the oyster it comes from only one place. Strength comes from weakness. No one is born strong. You're born 7 lbs 8 oz, maybe 10 lbs if both your parents were linebackers. The rest of life is a journey to become strong. Weakness begins, strength follows.

Now there was one man who actually learned to become both strong and weak simultaneously. "When I am weak then I am strong (2 Cor. 12:10)." His name was Paul. Not my brother Paul; I would never quote someone from my own family to support my arguments. This Paul was still just a man, but not a man alone. No human power could be weak and strong at the same moment. Even Superman had his kryptonite moments and his "on top of the world" - literally - moments. Paul was something more than Superman. He was supernatural. He was a Christian. Christ's grace made him strong in the midst of his human tiredness and temptation.

Grace doesn't always heal human weakness but it can help you to get beyond it. Then you'll be both weak and strong in the same moment. Paul didn't need a hat to remind him of that; but like the hat he had one word that inspired him - Christ. Take the hat or Christ, or both. Just be strong.











1 comment:

  1. You helped me to realize an easier way to stay on the path. Just focus on one word and the hike up to Mt Tabor becomes so much easier. Thanks

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