weakness and boasting.

2 corinthians 11:30...if i must boast, i will boast of the things that show my weakness.

interesting...the apostle paul seems to be speaking about his weakness and how those are things that ultimately serve to glorify God -- showing God's strength, ability to deliver, and how regardless of what cards life deals, God's purposes will win out. paul seemed to do this sort of thing -- he was pretty blunt and honest about life and the hardships that come with living a life of faith. thorns in the flesh (metaphorical? real?), stonings, hiding out, jail time, beatings, shipwrecks...you name it, paul had it happen. yet he continued to seek, savor, and desire to serve God with his life. moreover, he spoke openly about his struggles and overcoming those -- boasting in his weakness and inability to fix himself -- that God's power might be forefront. think maybe we ought to do this more? how would sunday look different if we talked about life being difficult because as our lives look more like Jesus' life, we are swimming against the current? what if we spoke about the difficulty of leaving sin behind, and that the process is what grows our faith up? what do we say to our kids about this stuff?

i gotta think that being honest about life and faith, showing them that sometimes bad stuff happens and our lives fall apart, but that God can be the anchor and foundation and source of life and truth that helps us hang on is the best way to do it. not to promise that we'll always be strong, that life will always be rosy and fun, but that God is real and able to see us through the moments of our weakness...maybe that's key to helping our kids want faith to be a real thing for a lifetime.