As I progress through the ordination process, I study a lot of things that truthfully I would just rather sweep under the carpet. This past week one of the discussion topics with my mentor Rev. Debra Crumpton was, “Discerning Your Fruit through Successes and Failures” (see Galatians 5:22-23). The successes we all like to discuss, the failures, maybe not so much. However unless we have achieved perfection, failure is as much a part of life as eating and drinking.
Some of the things that we discussed included:
What is the definition of success?
What is the definition of failure?
How do I react to successes? To failures?
What do the successes and failures tell me about the fruits of the Spirit in my life?
None of us like to fail; we all like to win. None of us like to lose; we all like to win. None of us like to strike out; we all like to hit the home run. We all think of Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson as a winner, but did you know that he is also the all-time strikeout king, having struck out 2,597 times in his career? The question isn't if you will strike out. It is how will you allow God to work in you and others through your failure? What will you learn through your failures?
If you are sitting on the bench, you are not going to strike out. You're also never going to get a hit. God calls us to get in the game. He knows what our strengths and weaknesses are (he gave them to us). So if he calls you from the bullpen in the bottom of the ninth with 2 outs and the tying run on first, do your best and leave the rest up to God (he's pretty good at managing the game).
God bless,
Pastor Brad
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