IN SPITE OF OUR “FLAWS” …
“Then I
said, ‘My doom is sealed, for I am a foul-mouthed sinner, a member of a sinful,
foul-mouthed race; …” Isaiah 6:5
(Living)
Aware of my
interest in golf my Granddaughter gave me a plaque portraying “The Development
of the Golf Ball”. Samples of the
various balls developed over the past three centuries were displayed. Even though I enjoy golf, I had never given
much thought to the shape of the ball and was surprised to learn that some of
the earlier balls were perfectly smooth, whereas, the more recent ones had
pockmarks or dimples covering the face of the ball.
The change
in the surface of the ball puzzled me so I made inquiries of an engineer friend
as to the purpose of the pockmarks since their addition made the ball look
imperfect. He explained to me that a
perfectly smooth ball would travel only about 130 yards off the tee. The same ball with the right kind of
“imperfections” would fly twice that far!
The reason for this difference is that these apparent “flaws” or dimples
minimize the ball’s air resistance and allow it to travel much farther.
After pondering his explanation
I began to wonder if maybe God built “flaws” into each of us to better fulfill
His purposes. These defects, which we
may consider limitations, might make us more effective in reaching out to
others!
I was reminded of Moses lamenting that he was unsuited for
the role that God had chosen for him (Exodus 4:10-13)and reflect for a moment
on the Apostle Paul before he was called to serve Christ. A more recent example is one of our most
popular hymns; it was written by a bed-ridden invalid, who felt useless to do
anything let alone effectively serve God.
Yet Charlotte Elliot’s simply worded text, “Just As I Am” has probably
propelled more people to Christ than any other hymn or any sermon ever
preached. Maybe the title of her hymn
serves as a message to each of us to serve without focusing on our flaws. The message seems to be: to use what we have
and if we need more, He will provide.