Last Sunday, Pastor Dale preached a sermon that truly spoke to my heart. He talked about the Bible, its power and the relationship between Paul and Timothy. I’m grateful to be learning from a servant leader such as, Rev. Dale Rosenberger. Furthermore, I’m acutely aware of why he has been a minister for almost four decades! His soul, his mind and his heart submit themselves to God on a daily basis. Meaning, he is constantly serving others, he takes off his mask to open up about life’s struggles and he walks alongside people in their pain despite the circumstance.
Such character displayed above is what we all should aspire to be as Christians. One of my favorite scripture versus comes from a letter that is ascribed to the Apostle Paul. The text comes from 2 Corinthians 12:9 and reads: “but he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.’ So, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.”
What a gift to rid ourselves of fear, shame and self-hate by realizing that in our human weakness and or brokenness we are powerful because of God. This message brings tears to my eyes because I’ve seen how this information has changed the lives of people, forever.
Pastor Dale and I share content with each other often. He gave me an article by Mark Yaconelli, an author that Pastor Dale speaks highly of. The title of the article is “Failure to launch”. Below is an excerpt that speaks to how important it us for all of us to remove our masks.
“Again and again the disciples are forced to give up their expectations and remain in a state of spiritual poverty. To enter into spiritual poverty is to keep from seeking to possess or control God. Spiritual poverty is the willingness to be empty, to allow our expectations of God to dissipate. Like those who followed Jesus, it’s a willingness to be helpless, confused, anxious, and wanting. It’s a willingness to enter the void, the uncertainty that so many people, particularly the poor, live with every day. It’s a willingness to allow God to be God and me to be me. It’s only in this empty and vulnerable state that we become available to the God who lives in the present moment, the God who lives in our immediate relationships, and the God who lives within the small acts of love that we are asked to undertake.”
In my young life of ministry, I’ve come to believe, that Jesus Christ has a primary care when it comes to human beings. His investment is in the condition of our hearts. We can learn so much from each other. We can especially learn from the eyes of a child. Brokenness — it is you, it is me, it is all of us.
Compassionately,
Gary Michael