Point Blank

Another day that neither "head hunger" nor "heart hunger" dictated by thoughts and emotions.  Yay!  I hope this keeps up!

I met with my ministry mentor today.  It had been a while since we had been able to get together so it was absolutely wonderful to spend a couple of hours with her.  One of the first things I did was introduce her to my project...and I was thrilled that she offered me encouragement and support.  (Even though she was munching on an Elephant Ear and drinking coffee as she did so.)

But I also needed to talk with her about some issues in my journey into ministry that have been discouraging. Nobody said that this road would be an easy one, but I am always hurt and surprised when a roadblock comes up and disrupts my plan.  Then I remember that it's not my plan that's important.

So today, after my mentor listened to me throw a little pity party and beat myself up about an issue for a while, she told me a story of her own.

When she was fairly new in ministry, she was asked to attend a weekend retreat that she really did not want to attend.  It was an emotional event for many people and she found herself thinking, "Why am I here?  I don't want to be here!  This weekend is going to last forever."

At one point in the weekend, she was in conversation with one of the meeting facilitators.  And she was doing just what I was doing earlier today--beating herself up about an issue.  The response she got floored her.

Point blank, the facilitator (another pastor) said to her, "Who in the hell do you think you are that Jesus Christ dying on the cross was not good enough to cover your sins?"

It was like getting hit in the face with a brick wall for my mentor.  And it changed her life.

I got the point.  And I hope that you also take it to heart.

Beating yourself up about your faults is pure vanity if you are a Christian.  You've been forgiven.  You have no right to withhold forgiveness from yourself knowing that Jesus Christ suffered to give you the gift of forgiveness.

Who in the hell do you think you are?