"I am God - and I approve this messenger."

Scripture:

2 Timothy 2:12-15

12 if we endure, we will also reign with him;

if we deny him, he will also deny us;

13 if we are faithless, he remains faithful—

for he cannot deny himself. 14 Remind them of this, and warn them before God that they are to avoid wrangling over words, which does no good but only ruins those who are listening.15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved by him, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly explaining the word of truth.

Observation:

Verse 15 jumps out at me today. The mentor's encouraging instruction to his protege is, "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved by him, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly explaining the word of truth." This verse is the obvious next step from 12-13: 

God's faithfulness is not limited by or a response to our faithfulness to God. Rather, our capacity for being faithful towards God and neighbour is set free and super-charged by the unshakeable foundation of God's grace.

This word comes to me today as both invitation and challenge. I am learning to listen carefully when the word sounds both unconditionally affirming and risky at the same time as it is often the mark of a call from the LORD (a kairos, if you will).

Application:

Sometimes, in the name of being relatable or humble, I play small. I play up my weaknesses, failures, and sins in the hopes that others will see that none of us are perfect and that perfection is not a requirement for walking with the LORD. Experience shows this can be a useful strategy for engaging people who don't see themselves as particularly "godly". That said, experience also reveals that it is too easy to get stuck in this mode of playing small and so avoid the scary and awesome work of following where God is leading.

...

I have just spent 30 mins trying to put into words the sense of leading and correction I am experiencing today in this "kairos".

I'd like to have this post polished and complete for my sake and yours; but, sometimes discerning a word from the LORD isn't as tidy as I'd like. I can hear God saying clearly, "I approve of you."

I know this unconditional promise is as true for me as it is for each of you reading this.

The question remains: what would God have me/you/us do in response?

It is a question worthy of chewing on today. Care to join me?

Prayer:

God, the noise of our lives is too often a distraction from hearing your call clearly. Today, I lift up especially the "back-ground noise" of past failures and enduring character flaws that make it so difficult to believe I am worthy in your sight. Grant respite from this unholy din, and new ears to hear, so that I might say with the faithful throughout the ages: "speak, Lord, your servant is listening!" Amen.