Strength Through Our Weakness

One Armed Judo

The little boy had been in a terrible automobile accident. His left arm was so badly damaged that the surgeons had to amputate. He felt too awkward playing the usual sports—baseball, football, and basketball—so he decided to take judo lessons. His teacher was a grand master and a skilled technician. He carefully and patiently taught the young boy the basic positioning until the young boy mastered each set. Then the aged teacher taught his pupil his first move. Over and over the teacher required the boy to practice the move.

After several weeks the boy made steady progress learning the move. However, he was a little confused so he asked, “Teacher shouldn't I be learning other moves?” The grand master told the boy, “This is the only move that you will ever need to know. You must master this one move.” The boy did not really understand but chose to trust his teacher.

A few months later the teacher took the young boy to his first tournament. Using his one move, he easily won his first two matches. However, his third match proved more difficult. His opponent was a little bigger but eventually he became impatient and charged the young boy. Using the only move that he knew the young boy threw his opponent to the mat and pinned him.

The young boy was amazed by his success. He was now in the finals but this time his opposition was bigger, stronger and more skillful than anyone he had faced. Early in the match the young boy appeared over matched. Concerned for the young boy's safety the referee called a time out . He wanted to stop the match before the young boy got hurt but the grand master insisted that the match continue.

The referee brought the two boys together and resumed the match. Soon after the restart the young boy's opponent dropped his guard. It was just for a moment but long enough for the young boy to employ his one move to pin his opponent. The one armed boy had become the champion.

We enjoy hearing stories like that one. We pull for the underdog. We feel good when we hear about someone triumphing over their physical limitations. We are inspired to hear how a person refused to allow their weaknesses hold them back. Ironically, we then return to our everyday existence and allow our own weaknesses and shortcomings to limit our dreams and ambitions.

I understand the problem at a personal level. I will be in prayer or meditation and have a vision for a new project or ministry. At first I will imagine us putting all the pieces together. I will see scores of people coming to church, hearing the gospel, responding in faith and asking to join a small group Bible study or a ministry team. Then I will start thinking about how to get started and all that I can think about are the limitations. Who can I get to do this? How will I ever convince anyone to give more time? How can I ask people for more money in this economy? Before long my list of reasons for why we can't have a new ministry becomes longer than my list of ways of making it happen. My weaknesses limit my vision and dissipate my strength.

I am not a person who believes that we can be anything that we want to be. Each of us does have certain limitations that prevent us from accomplishing certain things. Even if I had intensified my training in high school and college, I would never have learned to jump from the foul line and dunk a basketball like LeBron James. I could have spent every waking moment on the putting green in my backyard but I would not have been able to master the greens at the Augusta Country Club like Arnie, or Jack or Tiger. And no matter how many books I read, or how many sermons I preach, my writing will never equal the depth of thought of a C.S Lewis or a J.R.R. Tolkien. These men have not only spent hours mastering their craft but they also possess an innate skill that enables them to excel beyond us mere mortals. But that does not mean that you and I cannot accomplish something wonderful for God's Kingdom? Absolutely not! As the Apostle Paul implies, even in our weakness we can be used by God for his purposes.

So why then do we make so many excuses to squirm out of fulfilling a role or responsibility in church? Every pastor has heard the excuses:

“Oh I cannot teach Sunday school, I am just not good with children!”

“Oh I can't visit Myrtle in the hospital, I would not know what to say!”

“Oh, I can't help cleaning up the church, my knees do not bend like they use to!”

“Oh, I can't do that because......”

“Oh we are just a small church, we can't take on spending so much money to fix up the manse, we have so many other expenses.”

The Lesson of Humility

The apostle Paul understood the predicament and struggled until God said to him

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

Paul had to learn two lessons The first was the the lesson of humility. Paul had to learn that grace had to replace ego. This was difficult for Paul He was a very learned man. He demonstrated great intellectual skills so God gave Paul an infirmity. He called it his thorn in the flesh. Scholars have expended a great deal of time, ink and paper speculating on the nature of the ailment but are not even close to an agreement. Some think it was an inflammation of his eyes that caused swelling, others contend that it was severe headaches or even malaria. While we do not know the precise infirmity we do know that Paul's opponents used it against him. They argued that if he had enough faith or was truly called to be an apostle, God would have healed him.

Physical health is often used as a sign of God's blessings. More than one person has asked me, “Pastor, why doesn't God heal me?” “What have I done to deserve this?” We assume that if we live a good life we will be free from chronic physical ailments or that spiritual maturity can be measured by good health. This argument may appear ridiculous to hear now but how often do we think about this in moments of frustration. Or how often do we use some form of disability or physical ailment as a reason for not volunteering or accepting an assignment.

God had given Paul a vision so incredible that words could not describe it. Anyone who has had such a mystical experience would be tempted to brag about it. Paul's thorn prevented that because the severe pain or the physical misconfiguration reminded him each day that he was still just a mortal man. He had to rely on the grace of God, not on his good looks or skillful speaking to accomplish God's work.

Our core issues also deal with humility. We are reluctant to risk in areas of weakness because we are afraid of failing. We are embarrassed by the quality of our work compared to someone else. In the back of our mind we are saying that unless we can do a professional job we will not risk doing the project. There are some vocational fields that this attitude is indeed important. We do not want a NASA scientist doing a less than a precise job on the design and construction of the Space Station. We do not want our oncologist saying when writing the prescription for our chemo therapy, “Now was that dosage 15mg or 150mg or 1500mg.” Nor do we want to hear the teller at the bank make a mistake in adding up our bank deposit. Those professions require an exactness. But God does not expect that every person will produce an award winning performance in every ministry. .

Garrison Keillor, in one of his reports on life in Lake Wobegon, was describing all the activity that occurs in the mythical Minnesota town about this time of the year. Keillor admits that many of the pageants and special services are a bit silly, some of them ridiculous. Why would these ordinary people, who have no acting training, not much acting or musical ability, join in these Yuletide theatricals? "Because," says Keillor, "it's a great story and we just want to be part of it."

We are called to be a part of the great story and sometimes that means that we should be willing to participate even if we cannot give an award wining performance.

You may not be able to teach SS like a trained school teacher but if you can share your love for Jesus who cares if you follow the lesson plan.

You may not be able to heal the sick or say elegant prayers but if you can just sit with someone who is sick and hold their hand no one will fault you.

You may not be able to pound a nail in straight or climb unto the roof but if you can mix up fruit drinks and serve refreshments during a work day you will be just as important as the people doing the hard labor.

The Lesson of Weakness

On the way home the young boy went over each and every match with his teacher. He reviewed every move by his opponents and every one of his counter moves. Finally, the young boy developed the courage to ask the question that had been on his mind. “Teacher, how was I able to win all my matches with only one move?” The aged teacher explained, “You won for two reasons. First, you've almost mastered one of the most difficult throws in all of judo. And second, the only known defense for that move is for your opponent to grab your left arm."

The young boy's amputated left arm became his source of strength. We are seeing the same thing happen in our church. We are a small church but look at what God has done this summer. We raised the fifth highest amount of money for the Relay for Life. We held a Festival of Health broadcasting to the community that we care. Our community garden is now bearing fresh produce weekly for the Hospitality House. These are not unimportant steps. Each one brings us into contact with people in the community. Each displays the love of God for people. Now we must learn how to translate these acts of love into invitations for people to come and hear the good news about Jesus on Sunday mornings or in our mid week Bible classes.

Like the young boy Paul had to learn that his weaknesses could be the source of his greatest power. God told Paul

my power is made perfect in weakness.”

We may consider ourselves inexperienced, unpolished, and unskilled. We may consider ourselves unqualified to serve God in the church because of our past or even a present that is not consistent with the teachings of Christ. We may consider ourselves unprepared because of a lack of education. We all have our weaknesses. We all have 'amputated arms' but whatever we lack God can take it and make it into our source of strength.