Further Than The Mess

I've been reading in 1 and 2 Chronicles the past several days and noticed something today. Most of the kings in those days as they ruled Israel did may wrong things. Even when they started out as good and righteous rulers, in due time they fell into some sin, or idolatry or something. Their lives were far from perfect. Then as I thought about this as to why it happened to almost all of them, it occurred to me that the same can be said for just about all the key people in the Bible. They all messed up in very serious ways. Abraham, Moses,  David, Solomon, Jacob, Judah, Lot, of course the 12 disciples of Jesus all abandoned Him, Gideon is another.  Yet we regard them as great examples of faith and obedience to God, and we should because in spite of their failings the will of God was still furthered through their lives.  The only two I could think of who didn't mess up was Joseph, and Daniel, and Joseph may have been arrogant towards his brothers because of the visions God was giving him.  This gives us reason to hope in our time and in our own lives. The Lord knows the culture and times we live in are pretty messed up. He also knows that our lives can be pretty messed up as well. In spite of putting on our Sunday face and demeanor, many if not most of us have a past, or a present situation that we're not proud of at all. We live with the realization that we blew it and are now facing the fallout of our mistakes and unthinking actions.
But, this is where these Old Testament saints come into view and can help us. They were far from perfect.  We would call many of them today dysfunctional, abusive, hateful, cowardly, etc. But they are not defined by their failures. They are defined by the grace of God in their lives, and their turning to Him even in the midst of the wrongs they had done.
We read of them in Hebrews 11, and while we have respect for their accomplishments as they followed God by faith, we don't remember so much the failures they were guilty of as they lived in the plan of God.  So I was helped today as I read of these kings, and thought of the saints of old time, because I am not defined by my failures, though they are many. You should not be either. Is your life messy right now? Take heart because if, and that's a huge if, if you seek Christ in repentance and a true desire to increase in Godliness and leave the mess behind, He will clear it all up in His own way and timing. You will be like the heroes of old and not be remembered for the mistakes, but for the will of God being furthered through your life. That is why we're here, in these messy times and messy lives.  We demonstrate to a messed up culture that what God has done for us in our messes, He will do for them in theirs. Thus, the will of God through Jesus Christ is furthered in spite of ourselves, but in the triumph of His grace!