There is one thing we have in common with everyone else. And it’s not just something we have in common with people who are just like us or our friends, but it’s something we have in common with people we don’t even know—with people very much unlike us. Make no mistake; we all have a mess in our lives. And even if you’re lucky enough to be between messes right now, you’re still just a decision away from creating a brand-new mess.
We are all good at hiding our messes. In fact, we usually are better at hiding our messes than we are dealing with them. While we can look good while we’re mired in our mess, don’t be fooled. There isn’t anyone that hasn’t made a mess of things at one time or another. We can fool some of the people some of the time, but we can’t fool all the people all the time.
We make a mess of our finances. We make a mess of our academics. We make a mess of our relationships. We make a mess of our careers.
We make messes of our parenting. Maybe you’re being parented by a mess. The simple fact is life is messy. And the messes differ from person to person. Some have a stigma attached to them and some are simply given a nod by those around us. But they are still a mess.
God’s plan for mankind addresses God’s desire to help us begin to see the depth of our mess and to help us out of it.
We sometimes say, “Hey, nobody’s perfect.” And when we do, we are acknowledging that there exists a “perfect” as defined by the law that nobody lives up to. And no one does. We acknowledge that there is a perfect that I am not. Nevertheless, I am accountable to that perfect as defined by the law that is over me.
Paul’s bottom line in Romans 3:23, is the perspective we should start with daily: “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”,
Mankind, whether they acknowledge it or not, is accountable to the law of God because He made us. If you draw breath, you are part of His creation and the laws that govern it. Like the law of gravity, we are accountable to it whether we acknowledge it or not.
We all have messes. I know one when I see one, because I am one. When you see their mess and it reminds you of your mess, Paul says everyone is silenced. But we tend to talk when we should be silent. The only way out of our messes is to begin to think like God. To listen to God. But giving up the self, and all the devious means we have to protect it, is beyond our ability to do it alone.
But here’s the good news. Our mess has the potential to bring us closer to God like we have never experienced before. God can use our mess to bring us closer to Him if we will only yield to Him; if we are silenced before Him; if we are honest with ourselves, if we take full responsibility.
Staff