Weak Excellence

January 5, 2019

If excellence is a reflection of the nature of God himself, what do we make of God’s strange insistence upon using the weak and imperfect for eternal purposes? St. Paul states the case in 1 Corinthians 1:26-29

“Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him.”

While the soaring arches of a Westminster Abbey, the impeccable performance of the Hallelujah Chorus, or the magnificent oratory of Shakespeare’s Hamlet may reflect the glory of the Lord with breathtaking majesty, according to Paul, God revels in the halting, imperfect attempts of the lowliest of his people who present their best from the heart. Looking through some old files awhile back, I came across the childish scrawls of one of our children. It was a card—birthday or Christmas; I can’t remember—the gift of a four-year-old. The heart was lopsided, the spelling creative, but it was pure sincerity. I still treasure these gifts that today might be a bit embarrassing to their creators because I see beneath and beyond the childish ability to the childlike heart. 

If my kids made the same card today, instead of reflecting their love, it would be evidence of their thoughtlessness (except if Nate made it. Stick figures would be his best drawing). It’s the heart that matters. I’ve listened to trained voices singing songs of praise that left me feeling empty because all I heard was the voice; there was no surrendered heart of love behind the beautiful sounds. And I’ve listened to little children and tone-deaf adults who don’t know whether the note goes up or down, but their song is a beautiful paean of praise to the Lord who redeemed them. Excellence is not merely the end result of years of study and labor; for it to be truly excellent, it must also spring from a grateful heart. Tomorrow I will preach once more. Some may think it excellent, others may find it lacking. The only one who truly knows is the God who sees my heart. May he find excellence there, even if it doesn’t make it to the tongue.