UPDATED Today’s Spiritual Food for Thought, originally posted on February 4, 2013, was written by Pastor Ryun Chang (AMI Teaching Pastor).

Spiritual Food for Thought for the Weekend

“Vulnerability Will Set You Free”

Philippians 2:5-7

Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.

During my daughter’s senior year of high school, she was reading three books I didn’t know. That didn’t stop me from criticizing them—much to her annoyance. But after eventually reading them, I was surprised to find that I genuinely liked Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller and The Shack by William P. Young (though I still didn’t care for Brian McLaren’s Everything Must Change).

Why the difference? Content matters, of course—especially whether it aligns with Scripture. But ultimately, reading a book is a personal interaction with the author. Sometimes you end up liking the writer; sometimes you don’t. In this case, I found myself drawn to Miller and Young.

I appreciate unpretentious people who are willing to share embarrassing stories about themselves for the sake of honesty and growth. That’s why I enjoyed Blue Like Jazz, even though I was bothered by the Christians in the book who drank and cussed as if to say, “I’m a liberated Christian.” Still, it reminded me not to be so legalistic.

My favorite character was a cabinet-shop worker who drank and cussed but faithfully tithed. Because he hadn’t been to church in a while, his tithe—over $3,000—was sitting in a jar. When he learned that Miller didn’t tithe, he scolded him: “You ought to be ashamed of yourself. Stealing from God and all. You write Christian books and everything, and you’re not even giving God’s money back to Him.” A bewildered Miller wrote, “I couldn’t believe this was happening to me. I get a guilt trip from a fundamentalist.” The irony is rich: a Christian who hardly looked the part rebuking a well-known author who made his living writing about God.

The fact that Miller included this unflattering story blessed me. It told me that while his reputation might be expendable, the truth was not. And that’s the lesson: don’t take yourself too seriously. If Jesus—being in very nature God—took the form of a servant, how much more must we shed our pride and become humble and vulnerable with those around us.

So practice vulnerability. It can set you free, with the help of the Holy Spirit.

And by the way—avoid cussing (Eph. 4:29).

Prayer: Lord, remind me constantly to shed my false images so that people can see my true inglorious self.  Then, remind me that God loves me the way I truly am, warps and all.  Help me never to doubt Your love for me expressed in Christ Your Son!  Amen.   

Bible Reading for Today: Isaiah 5-6