vulnerability

December 19, 2009

I know God is trying to speak to me when he uses two unrelated sources to teach the same truth.  And of course, the truth is simple: to love is to be vulnerable.

Source #1: Andy Stanley's message to the NewSpring staff.  He spoke about being defined (as individuals, as the church, as the body of Christ) by our radical love for others.  There are- or will be- times in our lives where we have to make a choice: to win the argument or to win the person's heart back.  But we can't have both.  If we choose to win the person's heart back, then we have to give up that human nature urge to prove the other person's wrongdoing or guilt.  We have to take the blame in order to restore the relationship. 

Source #2: A chapter by Tim Keller in the book Come Thou Long-Expected Jesus.  He explains that when we decide we want the other person back, we must take down our defenses, absorb the verbal blows, and become vulnerable. This "costly act of redemption" hurts, but it's the only way to truly restore a relationship. He talks about the gift of vulnerability that God has given us through his Son.  "There is no way to have a real relationship without becoming vulnerable to hurt.  And Christmas tells us that God became breakable and fragile. God became someone we could hurt. Why? To get us back."

My God became vulnerable, took down his defenses, and accepted the blame for my wrongdoing.  A costly act of redemption- in order to win my heart.