"Good News for Losers" was the originally proposed title of one of Mike Horton's books, but the publisher vetoed it. I wish that the earlier title had stuck.
A quick review of the Bible reveals that the "heroes" often didn't look heroic. Moses tried to escape from having to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt, and was forbidden from entering the promised land as a result of later sin. King David was an adulterer and a murderer. The apostle Peter was a coward. The problem is that these "heroes" aren't the real hero of the story though.
I've had a CD entitled Help My Unbelief spinning in my CD player of late. Here's a blurb from the CD liner:
We believe that the Christian life is a complexity of emotions, a marriage of sorrow and joy. Valleys and mountaintops. Light and darkness. ... Because these writers have given us glimpses of their own doubt and unbelief, working through their hymns has given us much hope.
I think that the one of the problems with the world today is that Christians - and I'll include myself in this - keep their struggles and failures to themselves. There often seems to be good reason for the world to view Christians as hypocrites. Paul has a few things to say on the subject of weakness:
I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
- 2 Cor 10:9b,10 ESV
The JollyBlogger recently posted a few thoughts on vulnerability which seem worth considering. Here's a tidbit:
Christianity teaches that Jesus is perfect, not us. When leaders share their imperfections they communicate that God is the God of imperfect people. The reformed doctrine of total depravity teaches that sin permeates all parts of our being, so sin and failure are the norm for our lives, which gives us the opportunity to demonstrate that our ongoing need for the moment by moment redemption that is ours in Christ.
