"Car je suis fier de l'Evangile: c'est la puissance de Dieu par laquelle il sauve tous ceux qui croient, les Juifs d'abord et aussi les non-Juifs" Romans 1:16
It really doesn't have anything to do with being in trouble ... but often, in a difficult situation, my mind goes a little blank.
I was climbing Mt Curahee with the youth group kids last year, and I didn't think I was going to make it. I quoted the verse over and over again. I climbed and climbed, and quoted and quoted. And then I threw up. And then I sat down. And then I didn't make it up the mountain.
I'm not a quitter. It's not who I am. And when I couldn't make it up that mountain, it was a real low point in my life. I didn't quote the verse in French anymore. I didn't quote any Bible verse for a while.
I couldn't put my finger on it, but some part of my faith had been crushed under the weight of that mountain.
My part. The me part. The part where it's all about what I have done. I'm a red-blooded American, and we stand proud on our accomplishments. It's hard to move past my culture and accept aspects of faith that fly in the face of my traditions.
It's not about us. It's about God. I was trying to rely on myself and a "magic" Bible verse to get me through difficult situations - and I needed to learn to rely on God.
I think that the Christmas season is a perfect time to re-learn this lesson. As we obsess over the rich, powerful, and in-charge in our daily lives ... Christ comes to us as the lowest expression of our humanity. A poor baby. Born in a backwater. Of possibly illegitate circumstances.
I see this tiny Baby, and He reminds me what my faith needs to look like.
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