Failure

I'm not sure why this thought has been on my mind lately, but I figured I would explore it a little further. If I were to grade myself on the roles I have in life, I would fall far short of what grade I would like to get. My roles are: son, brother, husband, father, friend, musician. Why do I fall short? The all-encompassing, simple answer is that I am sinful. But it's much more than that.

As a musician, I realized that no matter how much I practice, I will still make mistakes. They may be small, but they're still mistakes. And for a long time, I used that as my excuse, and got into extremely bad habits, which I am still trying to correct. Is that part of why I would get a lower grade? Yes. I think another part of it is as well is being content and not being challenged, internally or externally, to improve.

As a friend, I was reminded last night in a discussion last night about a friendship that had soured. It was a complicated situation, but since mid November, this person hasn't said a word to me. Now, I could do something about that, and at least approach the subject and maybe something changes for the positive. Maybe not. The biggest reason why I would get a lower grade is because at times, I choose not to put in the work that friendships take.

I could keep going with more and more examples of where I fall short. But this isn't confession time. The law in the Bible reminds us that we are sinful, and we fall so far short of what God expects of us. And when I look in the mirror, I don't like what I see. But the Gospel reminds us that no matter how far short we fall, God picks us up, forgives us, and loves us. And that blows me away when I stop to ponder that. God knows that we will screw up again, and again, and again, yet He chooses to love and forgive us. Amazing. I have to make attempts to be better, but I know I'll fall short. I'll get distracted by other things, make incorrect choices, and fall short once again. But God doesn't fall short. He goes above and beyond even what His own law demands. His love, grace and mercy trumps all. And what joy that brings!