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foolishness to those who are perishing," but let
us not forget that "to us who are being saved,
it is the very power of God" (1 Cor. 1:18). Just
as God's power was most starkly revealed in
the brokenness of the cross, so it is most clearly
present when cradled in the fragile, clay pot
shards of our lives. Our inability, unworthiness,
and weakness spotlight the strength, the power,
and the grace of our God.
All of us, like Paul, have been called to be min-
isters of Christ, boasting in our own foolishness
and weakness. For, in the words attributed to
novelist and short story writer Alice Abrams, "In
life as in dance, grace glides on blistered feet."
Amy Poling Sutherlun is copastor of First Presbyterian
C
hurch in San Marcos, Texas.
Your Boast-worthy Weakness
1. When have your weaknesses or the difficult circumstances of your life made it clear that it
was God's power, not your own, at work?
2. In The Message, (Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress, 2002) Eugene Peterson paraphrases Paul's
words in 2 Corinthians 11:30 like this, "If I have to 'brag' about myself, I'll brag about the
humiliations that make me like Jesus." Take a minute to "brag"—just to yourself—about some
humbling experience you have had that has shaped you into a person who is more like Jesus.
In what specific way were you made more Christ-like? Was it a lasting change in you?
Notes
J. Paul Sampley, The New Interpreter's Bible: Volume XI, "The Second Letter to the Corinthians" (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2000), 159.
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