Mess up

“Jesus did not disclose Himself to them for He knew what was in the heart of man” –John 2:24

Somebody messed up the other day and he will pay the price for the mistake the rest of his life. It wasn’t a simple mistake, but a premeditated hurtful act that made a mess and will affect a lot of people for a long time. Those people are paying the price too. It's further complicated because it was a popular person that a lot of people respected and trusted.

We’re usually okay with mess-ups by people we perceive as messed-up. But when it’s a minister or public official, we’re left dazed and confused. We look at ourselves in the mirror and ask, “if that person is capable doing that, then what about me?”

Of course, we all mess up. We all make mistakes. Sometimes our mess-ups are huge and sometimes they’re small. The point is, we all have the capacity to do dumb things. Some of those mistakes can be fixed while others do permanent damage.

Jesus, being God, never differentiated between the “mess-ups” and the “normal.” He knew that all men were capable of the worst. But he hoped and prayed that all men would seek the best.

In His dealings with the disciples, he loved completely but He was not naïve about the capacity of Judas or the other disciples to act on evil. He was careful in His dealings with these men and how much He disclosed to them.

As parents, when someone hurts our most precious children, we’re left to choose. Do we shut the door on trusting that coach or leader? Do we grow bitter and angry that we missed something? Do we close the door to any opportunity for our teenager to risk? Parenting is a tricky business with no guarantees. All we can do is our best and leave the results up to the Master.

When the mess-ups affect our kids, we correctly confront those involved, then all we can do is learn and trust that “all things really do work together for good to those who love God.” All we can do is trust that the Father that loves our kids more than we do will use the trial to develop our kids into men and women of God.

I’m reminded of that phrase in the song by Point of Grace, “I am broken, torn apart, take the pieces of this heart and heal the wound but leave the scar.” None of us want our kids wounded and hurt. But sometimes our kids will be wounded. We protect the best we can, but sometimes the worst of this world affects our kids.

It’s then that we hug our kids and yield to someone bigger than ourselves. We pray for healing to happen but we also pray for the scar of brokenness to do its work and never go away. We want our kids happy, but mostly we want our kids complete.

Yep, somebody messed up badly the other day. There’s no excuse. It’s not fair. There’s no explanation. But there is a guarantee that above this tragedy, God rules sovereign and will use this and any trial to strengthen our teens, and ourselves, if we will yield to His work.

By Eric Joseph Staples ©