SOMETHING TO BRAG ABOUT

Jeremiah 9:24 “But let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth.”

An older woman was cruising a busy parking lot in her new Mercedes-Benz looking in vain for a parking space. She finally saw someone loaded with packages heading for a car, so she followed him, put on her blinker and waited patiently until he pulled out. Just as he pulled out a young man in a sleek black Porsche zipped in to the space ahead of her. She was dumbfounded and outraged, and jumped out of her car, shouting, "How could you do that? Didn’t you see me waiting there with my signal on?" He smiled an arrogant smile and replied, "That’s what you can do when you’re young and fast." As the young man was about to enter the store he heard the hideous crunch of metal striking metal. He ran back, horrified, to see that the woman had gunned her Mercedes and smashed it into his beautiful black Porsche. He ran back and cried, "How could you do that?" She smiled back at him and replied, "That’s what you can do when you’re old and rich!"

I remember growing up and watching some of the people in my church. They seemed to be without flaw. In their pressed suits and perfect dresses with their bible in hand. I was convinced that those individuals, if necessary, could have walked on water. Many of those people profoundly impacted my life for the better. However, there were those who were acutely aware of their “flawlessness”. The way they dressed, the way they spoke, and the things they abstained from had become their defining characteristics. They knew they were “good” and maybe even “holy”. They were also acutely aware of the rest of us who were not “perfect”.

As a teenager, I was no longer impressed by them, but I was more perplexed. I was perplexed because I could not figure out why I was still imperfect as they made perfection look and sound so simple. They made me feel as if something was wrong with me. I felt as though I was chasing this untouchable goal of “sanctification”. And it wasn’t just me. Anyone who was not pre-packaged in perfection was looked down upon. “Clean up and then you can join our club” was the unspoken motto of the day.

There was a boastful spirit that was centered upon rules and regulations. Don’t go here and don’t go there. Don’t wear this and don’t say that. And because they didn’t go to those places, because they didn’t wear those things, because they didn’t say those words, they were better than anyone who did. I grew up feeling guilt and shame (not to mention fear) for every misstep, for every temptation, for everything…period.

As a young adult, I realized that I had spent so much time without hearing about the love of God. It had been so long, that the idea of a God who loved me aside from what I did was tough to comprehend. I mean, how would I really know that I was saved if I could not validate it with either abstinence or performance? What could I boast about?

Don’t get me wrong. I am hungry to please God. I want to lay aside the things that hinder me. I want to love God with every part of me. I know, without question, that sin cannot increase in my life simply in order for grace to increase.

Our scripture today says it best. The only thing that I can be proud of is that I know God and that I know his love for me. It doesn’t mean that I have more revelation than the next person, but simply that I have the privilege of having my life touched by his precious love and that I know him as my savior. I should not hold my head up high because I have checked everything off my own list of qualifications. I should instead be humbled by the fact that there isn’t a pen big enough to blot out all of my sin and failure. I should hold my head high because he loves me enough to cover my sin in his blood and receive me as his own.

As we journey through life, we ought to always live with the knowledge of God’s love for us. I am challenged today to never boast of the way I do things. You see, I too can be tempted to become intolerable of things that are different. I too can look at things that are new and innovative with suspicion. I pray that I never cause others to feel the way I felt as a child. Instead, let us all remember that it is God alone that judges, justifies, and blesses. That’s something to be proud of.