They Were Us

In those moments when your behavior, your actions, are less than what they should have been, and you wish you had not done what you did, the worst thing that could happen would be to run into a preacher or someone you think is very close to being like Jesus. Or you and your spouse have had a big fight, you’ve made a mistake with one of the kids, and your family life has not been ideal, and you don’t want to hear about how perfect the neighbor’s family is.

One of the worst things that we can do is to compare ourselves with someone else who we think has no problems and lives the ideal life. Consider some of the heroes in the Bible to see some of the things they did. Look at Abraham and Sarah for instance. They were the parents of the whole nation of Israel. They were people of much faith, and were greatly favored by God.

You know the story. Sarah couldn’t have children, God had promised Abraham that he would have a son who would be the beginning of a great nation of people that would number more than the stars in the sky. Sarah did not believe this, so she suggested to Abraham that he sleep with her servant girl, get her pregnant so what God had promised would come true. That is what Abraham did, and the servant did have his child. I would suggest that this might cause some problems in a marriage, especially today.

One day God was talking to Abraham telling him that in a year Sarah would have this son he had promised. Sarah overheard the conversation. She laughed because she was 90 years old and Abraham was 100. There was no way two old fogies like them could have a child, she thought. Later God confronted Sarah and asked her why she had laughed. She said, “I did not laugh.” Here we see one of the greatest women in the Bible speaking directly to her God, her lord, telling him a big boldface lie. God said, “Yes, you did laugh.” These are only two of several things that Abraham and Sarah did that were pretty bad. And they are not the only biblical heroes who committed terrible sins. King David was an adulterer and a murderer, the Apostle Paul persecuted the church and was responsible for the deaths of many people. Peter was a betrayer. What did God do? He forgave them, they repented and God used them in a mighty way. It doesn't matter what we’ve done God will forgive us if we repent. What about those people you think are perfect, with perfect families, and never make mistakes and never sin? Let me tell you, they are not perfect. They do sin. You mess up, you sin, you beat yourself up by telling yourself you are a horrible person. You are not horrible. You are loved by God. So much so that his word says, “While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” If you have really screwed up welcome to the crowd. You are in a great position to receive God’s love and forgiveness.

None of us are any different than the great heroes of the Bible. They were sinners the same as you and me. They asked God to forgive them and they repented and God changed them. If we do the same God will be able to use us in a mighty way.