Fragile: Handle With Care

So, when we have a Christian friend who starts having doubts about whether or not the Bible is really God's Word, rather than yell at him for being so stupid, we need to try to help answer some of the questions he has. When someone in our family ends up getting divorced, rather than pointing our finger and telling everyone what a terrible person she is, we need to comfort her and encourage her to look to the Lord for strength. When someone in church gets caught in some sin, and everyone knows about it, rather than trying to embarrass or shame that individual, we need to offer our support and remind them of the free and full forgiveness that comes when we truly confess our sins to the Lord.

Friends, I am now 41 years old. I think my faith has grown in the past ten years, but I am more aware of my spiritual weakness, my fragileness, than I was ten years ago. I also understand the depth of God's strength better than I did then. I am weak, but He is strong. Knowing that to be the case, I need to frequently ask myself this question: Am I relying on my strength, which is very inadequate, or am I relying on Christ's strength which is far greater than I could ever need? That is the question I have for you as well: Are you relying on your strength, or are you relying on Christ's?

Horatius Bonar was a Presbyterian pastor in Scotland in the 1800s. He understood very much this important truth that we are weak, but Christ is strong. He wrote a marvelous song that celebrates this truth. We are going to sing it this morning. It is called, "I Hear the Words of Love."

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