Skip to main content

Broken Heroes: Human Frailty and the Glory of Christ by Pastor Charlie Handren

By Anonymous
Aside from Jesus Christ himself, the Apostle Paul is undoubtedly the most prominent person in Christian history. Through his missionary activities, his letters to the churches, and his influence on other New Testament authors like Luke and Peter, Paul’s impact on the church, and indeed the world, are hard to conceive much less articulate. He is, in the best sense of the word, a hero to all who call Jesus their Savior, Lord, and King.

Given Paul’s extraordinary stature, evident even in his lifetime, what do you suppose was his self-perception? Although several texts address this question well, 2 Corinthians 4:7-11 takes us near to Paul’s heart. He wrote, “But we have this treasure [the gospel of the glory of Christ] in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.”

Paul is indeed a Christian hero, but he is a broken hero. He is a flawed man who was transformed by the grace of Christ, and used by the power of Christ to spread the gospel throughout the earth. Paul’s astounding influence is not attributable to his charisma or intelligence or strategies, but to his Savior, Lord, and King. Indeed, Jesus repeatedly led him to the brink of death so that his resurrection life would be displayed through the obvious weaknesses of a man.

Like Paul, every hero in Christian history is a broken hero. From Ignatius to Hudson Taylor, from Mary the mother of Jesus to Amy Carmichael, every notable, Christian person has held the gospel of the glory of Christ in jars of clay. Many popular biographies rightfully exalt the commendable traits and accomplishments of such people, but sadly, they often mask or underplay their weaknesses and failures. It is important that we see both sides of our heroes lest we make too much of them and too little of Jesus. 

This devotional is the first in a series that I am calling, Broken Heroes: Human Frailty and the Glory of Christ. In this series I will highlight key historical figures and draw our attention to their accomplishments, as well as their unique brokenness. My twin aims are to demonstrate (1) that Jesus is the only true hero of the church, and (2) that God uses broken people just like us to exalt his great name in the earth. I will begin with Athanasius, Gregory of Nazianzus, Basil of Caesarea, and John Chrysostom. If you have the time and interest, I encourage you to read about these people in the coming weeks. May the Lord bless us as we look to see his glory displayed in the lives of our broken heroes. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Secret of all Failure is our Failure in Secret Prayer

By
“We may be assured of this—the secret of all failure is our failure in secret prayer” (12). So writes the anonymous author of the classic little book on prayer entitled, The Kneeling Christian (Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids: 1971). He means that the reason we so often fall into sin or live in discouragement or fail to bear fruit is because we do not cling to God in Christ above all things. We do not diligently seek him or lean on him or plead with him or draw on his strength. We give ourselves to busyness over communion with God and in this way we seek to accomplish in our flesh what can only be accomplished in the power of the Spirit.  Giving first place to what our dear author calls “secret prayer” is indeed a key to the Spirit-filled life but let’s be clear: prayer is not magic, rather, it’s a relationship. It’s not as if we simply have to file requests with God, being careful to use just the right words so that we can get him to respond as we wish. God is not a vending m
Post a Comment
Read more

Deacons - How They Serve and Strengthen the Church (Part 1)

By
  One of the next important priorities for GCF is to establish deacons in the life of the church. On March 14, 2021 we were able to establish an elder team. Currently, we have a team of four elders overseeing the congregation of GCF.  However, there is more work to be done. I have come to see that establishing an elder team was the bare minimum that needed to happen for GCF to survive. I believe GCF now needs to turn our attention to raising up a team of qualified and willing deacons to serve the congregation so that it will not only survive but thrive.   I would like to begin a series of blogs on deacons to help us understand who they are and what they do in the life of the church.  In this blog let me provide three reasons why I think deacons should be near our top priority.  Number 1: It is Biblical. Paul instructs Timothy to install elders who will help him pastor the church. For whatever reason, it seems the churches in our circles treat the installment of elders as non-negotiable
Post a Comment
Read more

Does the Doctrine Divide? by Patience Griswold

By Anonymous
“Oh, I try not to talk about doctrine. It’s so divisive.” This is a sentiment that I’ve heard expressed, as well as implied, on many occasions, and one that raises the question, does doctrine divide? In answering this question, we must keep in mind a very important truth and that is that everyone holds to some sort of doctrine . “Doctrine” is defined as “a belief or set of beliefs held and taught by a church, political party, or other group.” Regardless of whether or not someone publicly holds to a statement of beliefs from a particular church, every Christian, by definition, holds to a particular set of beliefs. As Carl Trueman observes in his book The Creedal Imperative ,       [W]hile Christianity cannot be reduced to doctrine, to mere teaching, it cannot be meaningfully separated from it, either. Even the most basic claims, such as “Jesus is Lord,” carry clear doctrinal content that needs to be explicated in a world where, as we have noted before, every heretic has his text and n
Post a Comment
Read more