Calling All Crackpots

My whole life I have seen the world from a slightly off-center, dizzy, bubbly perspective. I don’t consider myself “normal” and really could not define that for you if I tried. If I was for sale in the store you’d find me in the 50% off bin due to too many cracks and chips. With me it’s buyer beware. Despite all my efforts I am a cracked person. And I thank God for it everyday.

When you see yourself as slightly different from “normal” people you might think it would be hard to find a place for yourself. But it’s really quite easy once you learn the secret – there are no normal people. I know, shocking isn’t it? I’ll let you in on another secret – you are not normal either. Ha, welcome to the club! Glad you are here!

I will confess that that one of my cracks is that I have always had a problem with self-confidence. (Humor is a great low self-confidence cover-upper.) I keep thinking people around me can do whatever I’m doing – cooking, singing, dancing, walking, spelling, lawyering, being a human being, reading, writing, arithmetic – better than me (okay, on that arithmetic one, they usually can). But in reality they are thinking the exact same thing about me – now that’s funny (especially if you’ve ever seen me dance).

But my biggest crack is a lack of confidence with God. There are days when I am so strong in my faith but there are a whole bunch more when my faith is so very weak. And days when I ain’t got no faith at all. My mind has a mind of its own. I think thoughts sometimes that I know God disapproves of. There are days when I don’t want to be the “bigger person” or nice to people. And quite simply there are days when I’m not. I know God wants me to be like Jesus and man, it seems like I’m just not getting there anytime too soon. I have my moments, I visit the area but it sure is hard to move in.

I got cracks. I got lots of cracks. How does God use a person like that?

Turns out Gods loves cracks. In fact, the more the merrier He is. Don’t believe me? (It’s okay, one of my cracks is I like to lie from time to time.) Let’s look at the evidence.

Every single person living on the planet today is broken, cracked and abnormal in some way. And that makes every single person living on the planet today the perfect person to be a recruit in God’s Army. To understand this we have to go back to the beginning. The Bible is the perfect place for that. Every person in the Bible – except one, The One – was cracked and broken. Even the Bible’s biggest heroes were fallible, sinful, lost their faith and used by God. Here are a few that come to mind:

- Abraham lost his faith in God. So He listened to his wife Sarah (bad move) and committed adultery by sleeping with his wife’s maidservant so they could have a child together (Ishmael)(Gen.16:2-4). Then his wife decided she didn't think this idea was so hot anymore (big shock) and had Hagar banished. After Abraham saw the error of his ways God still kept His covenant with him and bore Abraham a son with his wife as promised when he was more than 100 years old (Isaac).

- David, who was married, slept with one of his soldier’s wives and the woman produced a child from the affair and then David got the soldier drunk had him killed. (2 Samuel 11:2-17). God still made David king as promised after David repented.

- Peter, one of the 12 disciples, denied he knew Jesus to His face – 3 times on Good Friday. (Matt. 26:69-74). This is the same Peter who the night before tried to defend Jesus from a Roman soldier in the Garden and cut off his ear. Now St. Peter in-waiting is asked if he knows Jesus and he says "nope, sure don't" "Yeah, you're one of those guys who hangs with him" "Don't know what you're talking about. Is that sundial correct? Wow, look at the time. I have got to go." Peter was about as loyal when it counted as an ice cube in a microwave. However, Jesus knew his heart. (And luckily He knows our hearts as well.) Peter spent the rest of his life as a missionary, eventually was martyred, became a Saint and became the foundation (literally) for the Christian church in Rome.

- Noah, after the flood waters had receded, got drunk on wine and his son Ham found him passed out drunk and naked outside of his tent. He put a curse on the son of his son because he had seen all this (can only chalk this up to his embarrassment - haven't we all been there?) Noah went on to live another 350 years for a total of 900+. (Gen. 9:20-22) (I love this little told story.)

- Then there is Thomas. I love Thomas. Thomas was also a disciple who followed Jesus and could be rather pessimistic at times. When Jesus first returned to the disciples after the resurrection Thomas was not there. When the others told him about Jesus’ return he did not believe them – he doubted their story (and gave us the phrase “doubting Thomas”). A week later, Jesus met with the disciples, including Thomas, and said to Thomas to place his hands on His wounds so he would no longer be unbelieving but believing. When Thomas did this he did indeed believe that Jesus had been resurrected. Because of this God blesses those who have not seen but still believe. (John 20:24-29)

All of these people were cracked. All of the people were vessels used by God – cracks and all. Crackpots. God can use whatever cracks we have to offer. He loves us just the way we are, just where we are. And like He did with the crackpots in the Bible, He refuses to leave us crackpots the way we are or where we are.

Pretty good company for you and me to be in if you ask me.