Mistakes

   Today I want to talk to you about a quote that I read from Dave Grohl. For those who don’t know, he was the drummer of Nirvana and is currently the front man of the Foo Fighters. To say the least, I love his music. He’s one of the few artists who still writes every note and every line by traditional means and not with a computer, which I respect as someone who’s dabbled in music. Anyway, enough geeking out about music. There was a point to this. I’m not sure when Dave said this, but I think it was in 2007. Here is the quote.

   “I’d like to imagine I won’t end up in Hell, but I think I’ve done too much acid and listened to too much death metal to sit on a cloud next to God with angels floating above my head.”

   That made me think. Are we really ever too far gone? It’s a valid question. I know we’re taught that we’re always redeemable, but what about when we’ve done enough bad in our lives that we don’t feel worthy of Heaven or just a relationship with God? What then? That’s when we’re too far gone because we’ve set this standard of how great we have to be to deserve Heaven or how great God’s chosen people must be compared to us. If you’re one of those people who doesn’t feel worthy, I want to show you something today. These are God’s chosen people’s track records.

   Noah, a man God chose to be one of the last people on earth, got drunk, passed out naked, and then when his son didn’t help him, he cursed his grandson as a punishment. Think about that for a second. HE chose to get drunk, get naked, and then he cursed someone else for it all. Now, I know it’s not as simple as I make it sound, but God’s chosen person in that situation doesn’t exactly sound perfect.

   Let’s look at Lot now. He was allowed to leave a city being destroyed because he was deemed worthy. This same man got drunk and slept with his daughters. Really think about that for a second. Does he sound like an overly great guy to you?

   Also, do a little reading on who Paul was back when he was called Saul. Don’t forget that Moses was a murderer, too, and Jesus pretty much surrounded himself with some of the worst people you can think of. Murderers, tax collectors, and a prostitute were all among Jesus’s friends. Now, I might have given you the impression that I’m just bashing on people from the Bible. I’m not. I’m just trying to point out something. It doesn’t matter to God what you’ve done in the past. You’ve never done too much wrong (or acid in Dave’s case.) The men and women of the Bible were people of action, and sometimes that action was very good. We tell our children stories about those good actions, but many times their actions were horrible and beyond what we would even do. God’s chosen people oftentimes made more mistakes than we do today, and yet many of us feel unworthy of His love. Why? Why do we think that the only way to be a “good Christian” is to be a person of nonaction. Yes, I know that’s not a word, but I’m using it, and you’re probably wondering what I mean by it. Well, here it is, and some Christians might not like to hear it. Many believers have fallen into the trap of thinking that not sinning is an action we do for God. They think that if they don’t curse or think impure thoughts that they’re somehow cleaner than the rest of society. It’s as if their nonaction is an action in their eyes, and doing nothing is never an action. God doesn’t expect us to be perfect, but he does expect us to be proactive in our belief in him. If you’re struggling with a past that makes you feel unworthy today, I want you to do something. Let it go. Sometimes you have to go to those dark places to know you don’t want to go back. You tried things, made mistakes, and have regrets. That tells me you messed up, but it also tells me you’re a creature of action. Those are the types of people God uses. He doesn’t use the ones who bury their heads in the sand because they’re too afraid to make a mistake or be seen with a person who’s taken a dark path. Believers of action live their lives and spread the word of God all while being as imperfect as they ever were. Faith doesn’t mean perfection or that it’s expected. It just means you have the belief that your life can mean something through God regardless of what came before you knew Him or what might come after.

   If you’re a man or woman of action, I can guarantee you this. You’ll make mistakes, and people will question your faith because you don’t bury your head in the sand and sit at home in a safe environment, but you’ll also spread your beliefs more than anyone who sits there all day judging people for their actions while doing nothing at all themselves. Your faith will be bipolar. Throughout your life, you’ll make huge mistakes, but you’ll get up again and find a way to spread the love and joy of your God to far more corners of the earth than anyone who is afraid to go to the places you’ve been to. You’ve been tested, and you’ve failed miserably, but in that failure, you’ve learned what not to do, how to talk to people who are in the place you used to be, and what it means to yearn for something so much more. You are worthy of God’s love, and even if you don’t believe it, you’re the type of person God chooses to use when He needs someone most.

   So that’s my post for today. Make mistakes, learn, and never forget that redemption doesn’t mean perfection. It means letting God help you back up every time you fall. It’s not quitting and knowing that God can love you as perfectly flawed as you are.