I am glad that there is not anyone that is perfect in the Bible except Jesus, our only Exemplar and whom we should emulate as we see Him in the Word and other believers. King David, for example, was a great man of God and the only one in the Bible that was a "man after God's own heart," but his success on the battlefield and with the pen and harp didn't translate into paternal success, as his children took after him in the worst way--seeing his failures, rather than his successes. For instance, they saw disregard for human life in his murder of Uriah the Hittite, and lack of control over his lust in his many wives and concubines.
Cases in point: The Bible is a place where we can see many godly fathers, (e.g., Samuel and Eli who also failed as fathers, and even great kings failed to have sons who were chips off the old block! The godly King Hezekiah's son Manasseh was the evilest of all Judah's kings.
When we go through failure ourselves, we sympathize with others in our shoes and when we say, "Been there and done that" we understand what they are going through. The cliché goes, "Don't judge someone until you've walked a mile in his moccasins!" To be specific, I have a lot of grace and patience toward backsliders because I have been that route myself and a bone that is broken heals all the stronger. People who have had drinking problems also have more tolerance toward this fault; they have learned to support each other in times of need.
I have been divorced and was a failure as a husband, but that doesn't mean I can't be a success at something else and find God's will for my life. Success is doing God's will with a smile and enjoying the toil and task God has given us, leaving the results to God, who gives the increase, as we plant, water, and reap.
I am patient with divorcees and realize that Christians aren't perfect. After all, being a friend is accepting someone despite their failures and even when we know their weakness and mistakes we still like them as a person who deserves our respect because of the dignity God has given a man, in the image of God. The bumper sticker is right-on: Christians aren't perfect, just forgiven.
It is worth mentioning that God tells it like it is and doesn't sugarcoat the truth in the Bible not sparing the details, if is edifying, by either positive or negative examples. We need to see that King David isn't perfect, even though Jesus is called "the Son of David." What we have to realize is that God can use even us in our weaknesses and vulnerabilities, if we surrender to God's ownership of our life. However, note that we all have "feet of clay" (according to Chuck Swindoll) or shortcomings that are not readily visible to others--a dark side that only God sees, like the moon that has a dark side we don't ever see.
A contemporary news personage is Adrian Peterson of the Minnesota Vikings who last year was the MVP and won national acclaim on the gridiron, only to manage national disgrace and shame the year after, ruining his career because he was a failure as a father when he was supposed to be a role model.
This begs the question: Who is a failure? The answer is that we are not to judge or condemn someone, but to have an attitude of grace, as the great preacher/revivalist George Whitefield said about the condemned prisoner: "There but for the grace of God, go I." Some people are just held to a higher standard, because to whom much is given, much is required.
To sum it up in a sentence: We are given examples of failure and shortcoming in the Scriptures so that we wouldn't give up, but hang in there and not be discouraged, but there's hope for all of us to have a chance at having an impact for the Lord at something. Soli Deo Gloria!
Cases in point: The Bible is a place where we can see many godly fathers, (e.g., Samuel and Eli who also failed as fathers, and even great kings failed to have sons who were chips off the old block! The godly King Hezekiah's son Manasseh was the evilest of all Judah's kings.
When we go through failure ourselves, we sympathize with others in our shoes and when we say, "Been there and done that" we understand what they are going through. The cliché goes, "Don't judge someone until you've walked a mile in his moccasins!" To be specific, I have a lot of grace and patience toward backsliders because I have been that route myself and a bone that is broken heals all the stronger. People who have had drinking problems also have more tolerance toward this fault; they have learned to support each other in times of need.
I have been divorced and was a failure as a husband, but that doesn't mean I can't be a success at something else and find God's will for my life. Success is doing God's will with a smile and enjoying the toil and task God has given us, leaving the results to God, who gives the increase, as we plant, water, and reap.
I am patient with divorcees and realize that Christians aren't perfect. After all, being a friend is accepting someone despite their failures and even when we know their weakness and mistakes we still like them as a person who deserves our respect because of the dignity God has given a man, in the image of God. The bumper sticker is right-on: Christians aren't perfect, just forgiven.
It is worth mentioning that God tells it like it is and doesn't sugarcoat the truth in the Bible not sparing the details, if is edifying, by either positive or negative examples. We need to see that King David isn't perfect, even though Jesus is called "the Son of David." What we have to realize is that God can use even us in our weaknesses and vulnerabilities, if we surrender to God's ownership of our life. However, note that we all have "feet of clay" (according to Chuck Swindoll) or shortcomings that are not readily visible to others--a dark side that only God sees, like the moon that has a dark side we don't ever see.
A contemporary news personage is Adrian Peterson of the Minnesota Vikings who last year was the MVP and won national acclaim on the gridiron, only to manage national disgrace and shame the year after, ruining his career because he was a failure as a father when he was supposed to be a role model.
This begs the question: Who is a failure? The answer is that we are not to judge or condemn someone, but to have an attitude of grace, as the great preacher/revivalist George Whitefield said about the condemned prisoner: "There but for the grace of God, go I." Some people are just held to a higher standard, because to whom much is given, much is required.
To sum it up in a sentence: We are given examples of failure and shortcoming in the Scriptures so that we wouldn't give up, but hang in there and not be discouraged, but there's hope for all of us to have a chance at having an impact for the Lord at something. Soli Deo Gloria!