"Failure is not fatal. Failure to change might be." --John Wooden
My dad is celebrating his 79th birthday on Sunday. As a family we have been at a loss to think of what to get him that really will be meaningful for him. I think when you reach a certain age, all of the things that were so important to you as a young person just don't mean so much. Oh sure, you can always find a gadget or toy that would be nice, but to really get a gift that is meaningful is another thing. I also realize that getting a gift for him in comparison to all of the wisdom, experience, and truth he has imparted to us just doesn't really match up.
Now that I am in my 40's and I have three teenage kids, I find the wisdom of my dad much more important than anything else I could possess. You see youth is cursed with vanity and pride. For some of us, we never out grow it. It is a constant battle that we face for years and years. In fact, some may never get past these two obstacles to be the person God wants of us.
In the past three weeks, I have come in contact with a couple of guys from my college days. Despite the change of appearance due to time, the most glaring thing I noticed is how we had changed. I have also been amazed at the journey that has been my life. I am still the same person I was years ago, but the amazing twists and turns that have moved me down the road have shaped who I am too. For those who knew me back in college this is a good thing.
Failure might be the word I would use to sum up my journey. That is a word that most of us don't like and certainly don't want to be said of ourselves In all honesty though, if I look back at my life I would really have to say that failure has played a huge part in my life. I do have to agree with Mr. Wooden that, "failure is not fatal. Failure to change might be." The reason so many never become the person that God wants is that they are constantly failing and never changing from what they have learned.
I hate to lose. No one wants to be a loser, but yet the only way we can truly move toward that expected end God has for us is to recognize that all of our struggles in life are losing efforts. Isn't that really the biggest part of the Bible? As I read the Scriptures, I can't help but think what a pathetic group of losers. Adam and Eve start the whole thing off losing and from their the baton is passed down to Cain, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, and the list continues all the way through. In fact, I identify with these people not because of their greatness or faith, but because of the fact that they failed in their many attempts to be someone great without changing.
My life has been one failure after another. I have failed to be a good husband. Failed to be a good dad. Failed to be a good leader. Failed to be a good teacher. Failed to be a good pastor. Failed to be a good friend. Failed at everything I have ever tried. The good part of this is that I have changed. Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different outcome. Most of us live this "rat-in-a-maze" existence where we do the same things yet always expect a different ending. It is through the failures of life that I have learned to change.
Though I am still the same person I have always been, I have also changed. What is great is to see that God allows us to fail in order to make us into someone better, someone more like Him. Just because we fail, doesn't mean that we always change or change in the way that God would have us be. I read a quote the other day that fits, "Right now, each of us are three people sitting here. Who we are right now. Who we could be with God, and who we could be with Satan." God has an expected end for you and I, but the question as to whether we reach that end has to do with our daily choices and responses to failure.
As we celebrate my dad's birthday, and struggle with what to get him I realize that he has given some of the greatest gifts of all. The psalmist wrote, "I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings of old, which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us. We will not hide them from their children, telling to the generation to come the praises of the LORD, and His strength and His wonderful works that He has done." (Psalm 78:2-4) Dad has taught to me and my children God's praises, His strength and the wonderful works that God has done. I don't think we will find a gift of this magnitude to return to him.
My dad is celebrating his 79th birthday on Sunday. As a family we have been at a loss to think of what to get him that really will be meaningful for him. I think when you reach a certain age, all of the things that were so important to you as a young person just don't mean so much. Oh sure, you can always find a gadget or toy that would be nice, but to really get a gift that is meaningful is another thing. I also realize that getting a gift for him in comparison to all of the wisdom, experience, and truth he has imparted to us just doesn't really match up.
Now that I am in my 40's and I have three teenage kids, I find the wisdom of my dad much more important than anything else I could possess. You see youth is cursed with vanity and pride. For some of us, we never out grow it. It is a constant battle that we face for years and years. In fact, some may never get past these two obstacles to be the person God wants of us.
In the past three weeks, I have come in contact with a couple of guys from my college days. Despite the change of appearance due to time, the most glaring thing I noticed is how we had changed. I have also been amazed at the journey that has been my life. I am still the same person I was years ago, but the amazing twists and turns that have moved me down the road have shaped who I am too. For those who knew me back in college this is a good thing.
Failure might be the word I would use to sum up my journey. That is a word that most of us don't like and certainly don't want to be said of ourselves In all honesty though, if I look back at my life I would really have to say that failure has played a huge part in my life. I do have to agree with Mr. Wooden that, "failure is not fatal. Failure to change might be." The reason so many never become the person that God wants is that they are constantly failing and never changing from what they have learned.
I hate to lose. No one wants to be a loser, but yet the only way we can truly move toward that expected end God has for us is to recognize that all of our struggles in life are losing efforts. Isn't that really the biggest part of the Bible? As I read the Scriptures, I can't help but think what a pathetic group of losers. Adam and Eve start the whole thing off losing and from their the baton is passed down to Cain, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, and the list continues all the way through. In fact, I identify with these people not because of their greatness or faith, but because of the fact that they failed in their many attempts to be someone great without changing.
My life has been one failure after another. I have failed to be a good husband. Failed to be a good dad. Failed to be a good leader. Failed to be a good teacher. Failed to be a good pastor. Failed to be a good friend. Failed at everything I have ever tried. The good part of this is that I have changed. Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different outcome. Most of us live this "rat-in-a-maze" existence where we do the same things yet always expect a different ending. It is through the failures of life that I have learned to change.
As we celebrate my dad's birthday, and struggle with what to get him I realize that he has given some of the greatest gifts of all. The psalmist wrote, "I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings of old, which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us. We will not hide them from their children, telling to the generation to come the praises of the LORD, and His strength and His wonderful works that He has done." (Psalm 78:2-4) Dad has taught to me and my children God's praises, His strength and the wonderful works that God has done. I don't think we will find a gift of this magnitude to return to him.
Comments
Post a Comment