Post by MIRIAM JACOB on Jun 9, 2008 1:43:44 GMT -5
OPEN ARMS
by Max Lucado
If you ever wonder how in the world God could use you to change the
world, look at the people God used to change history. A ragbag of
ne’er-do-wells and has-beens who found hope, not in their performance, but in
God’s proverbially open arms.
Abraham- God took what was good and forgave what was bad and used
“old forked tongue” to start a nation. Moses- would you call upon a
fugitive to carry the Ten Commandments? God did. David- his track record
left little to be desired, but his repentant spirit was unquestionable.
Jonah- God put him in a whale’s belly to bring him back to his
senses. But even the whale couldn’t stomach this missionary for too long.
On and on the stories go: Elijah, the prophet who pouted; Solomon, the
king who knew too much; Jacob, the wheeler-dealer; Gomer, the
prostitute; Sarah, the woman who giggled at God. One story after another of God
using man’s best and overcoming man’s worst.
The reassuring lesson is clear. God used (and uses!) people to change
the world. People! Not saints or superhumans or geniuses, but people.
Crooks, creeps, lovers, and liars—he uses them all. And what they may
lack in perfection, God makes up for in love.
Jesus later summarized God’s stubborn love with a parable. He told
about a teenager who decided that life at the farm was too slow for his
tastes. So with pockets full of inheritance money, he set out to find
the big time. What he found instead were hangovers, fair-weather friends,
and long unemployment lines. When he had had just about as much of the
pig’s life as he could take, he swallowed his pride, dug his hands
deep into his empty pockets, and began the long walk home; all the while
rehearsing a speech that he planned to give to his father.
He never used it. Just when he got to the top of the hill, his father,
who’d been waiting at the gate, saw him. The boy’s words of apology
were quickly muffled by the father’s words of forgiveness. And the
boy’s weary body fell into his father’s opened arms.
The same open arms welcomed him that had welcomed Abraham, Moses,
David, and Jonah. No wagging fingers. No clenched fists. No “I told you
so!” slaps or “Where have you been?” interrogations. No crossed
arms. No black eyes or fat lips. No. Only sweet, open arms. If you ever
wonder how God can use you to make a difference in your world, just look
at those he has already used and take heart. Look at the forgiveness
found in those open arms and take courage.
And, by the way, never were those arms opened so wide as they were on
the Roman cross. One arm extending back into history and the other
reaching into the future. An embrace of forgiveness offered for anyone
who’ll come. A hen gathering her chicks. A father receiving his own. A
redeemer redeeming the world.
No wonder they call him the Savior.
From No Wonder They Call Him the Savior
Copyright (W Publishing Group, 1986, 2004) Max Lucado
www.maxlucado.com
by Max Lucado
If you ever wonder how in the world God could use you to change the
world, look at the people God used to change history. A ragbag of
ne’er-do-wells and has-beens who found hope, not in their performance, but in
God’s proverbially open arms.
Abraham- God took what was good and forgave what was bad and used
“old forked tongue” to start a nation. Moses- would you call upon a
fugitive to carry the Ten Commandments? God did. David- his track record
left little to be desired, but his repentant spirit was unquestionable.
Jonah- God put him in a whale’s belly to bring him back to his
senses. But even the whale couldn’t stomach this missionary for too long.
On and on the stories go: Elijah, the prophet who pouted; Solomon, the
king who knew too much; Jacob, the wheeler-dealer; Gomer, the
prostitute; Sarah, the woman who giggled at God. One story after another of God
using man’s best and overcoming man’s worst.
The reassuring lesson is clear. God used (and uses!) people to change
the world. People! Not saints or superhumans or geniuses, but people.
Crooks, creeps, lovers, and liars—he uses them all. And what they may
lack in perfection, God makes up for in love.
Jesus later summarized God’s stubborn love with a parable. He told
about a teenager who decided that life at the farm was too slow for his
tastes. So with pockets full of inheritance money, he set out to find
the big time. What he found instead were hangovers, fair-weather friends,
and long unemployment lines. When he had had just about as much of the
pig’s life as he could take, he swallowed his pride, dug his hands
deep into his empty pockets, and began the long walk home; all the while
rehearsing a speech that he planned to give to his father.
He never used it. Just when he got to the top of the hill, his father,
who’d been waiting at the gate, saw him. The boy’s words of apology
were quickly muffled by the father’s words of forgiveness. And the
boy’s weary body fell into his father’s opened arms.
The same open arms welcomed him that had welcomed Abraham, Moses,
David, and Jonah. No wagging fingers. No clenched fists. No “I told you
so!” slaps or “Where have you been?” interrogations. No crossed
arms. No black eyes or fat lips. No. Only sweet, open arms. If you ever
wonder how God can use you to make a difference in your world, just look
at those he has already used and take heart. Look at the forgiveness
found in those open arms and take courage.
And, by the way, never were those arms opened so wide as they were on
the Roman cross. One arm extending back into history and the other
reaching into the future. An embrace of forgiveness offered for anyone
who’ll come. A hen gathering her chicks. A father receiving his own. A
redeemer redeeming the world.
No wonder they call him the Savior.
From No Wonder They Call Him the Savior
Copyright (W Publishing Group, 1986, 2004) Max Lucado
www.maxlucado.com