By David ReayThursday 25 Aug 2016LifeWords DevotionalsFaithReading Time: 0 minutes
Transcript:
Read 2 Corinthians 11:30
30 If I must boast, I would rather boast about the things that show how weak I am. (NLT)
Some years ago, a writer called Henri Nouwen wrote a book titled The Wounded Healer. His main point was that anyone who wants to minister to others in the name of Jesus does so out of their own brokenness. He was trying to dispel the idea that we had to be on top of things if we were to help others get on top of things.
Paul writes on the same theme: his weakness is not something to mourn but something for which to be grateful. His own weakness puts him in touch with God’s power. In fact, our brokenness (or sinfulness) is what drives us to the grace of God in the first place.
Recall that in the Garden of Eden the first humans hid from God when confronted with their wrongdoing. If we feel shamed by our brokenness we will continue to hide from God or cover it up by false bravado. It is only as we face our brokenness that we can be freed from it.
And it is only as we face it that we can truly help others. Trying to reach down to help others from a position of imagined moral superiority is not going to work. The broken-hearted are only to be helped by the broken-hearted. The delicate task of healing wounds is to be put in the hands of those whose wounds are only too evident and yet who are on a journey of healing.
Blessings
David Reay