“And when you have turned again,
strengthen your (sisters).” Luke 22:32
Strengthen Your Sisters in Christ (Part
Two)
Continued from yesterday’s entry about
Peter’s redemptive life story…
So what about us? Are we called to
“strengthen our sisters” through our own stories of redemption? I believe we
are. Yet how often are we more likely to hold on selfishly to a trial we’ve
been through, keeping it to ourselves, rather than share the work God did in
and through us? Sometimes, we hold on to our stories because of guilt or shame
rather than show others what God can do through the messes of our lives. Or
perhaps there is fear that by revealing our trials and sharing our messes,
people will reject and judge us.
Yet it’s through stories of brokenness
and God’s redemptive work in them that He builds the church. Jesus said that he
came to save the sick, not the healthy. “It is not the healthy who need a
doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to
repentance.” (Luke 5:31-32) He came to save sinners and we are all sinners,
weak, helpless, and in need of God’s healing. As we testify of God’s work in
us, it encourages others. When we boast in our weakness, God gets the glory (2
Corinthians 12:9). When the world sees the healing and transforming power of
God through us, it becomes a living testimony of His grace.
It’s important that we share with our
sisters what He has done for us. As we share those stories, we are sowing tears
that Christ will use to bring a harvest of blessing (Psalm 126:5). Our stories
encourage others, testify to God’s grace, and point to the One who came to
redeem all our brokenness.
We were all once a Simon. But through
Christ’s redemptive power, He strengthens us to become like Peter, a
stone–transformed by brokenness and enabled to stand secure by His power and
grace.
Each of us has a personal story of God’s redemptive
work through our brokenness. What story can you tell today?
Entry submitted by
Bonnie White
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