mistakes

At the National Postal Museum, there is a collection of rare and valuable stamps. The stamps which hold the most value are the ones which are mistakes - an airplane or a ship printed upside down, perforations in the wrong spots - all of these mistakes make the stamps worth more money. This got me thinking, what makes the mistakes more valuable? Frankly, I had a hard time seeing the beauty in the mistakes and I think if I were to have possessed one of these rare finds, it might have found its way to the trash, considered useless. Yet it is those very mistakes which hold collectors in awe. For in the mistakes, we are able to see the beauty of perfection.

It is the same with us. Some of my most valuable times with the Lord have been after I have made a mistake. In my mistakes, I see the beauty of His perfection. In my mistakes, He comes to me and teaches me and lifts me up ever so sweetly and shows me the way to go. For in my weakness, He is strong. In my failures, I learn valuable lessons. In my fall, I see His grace and the mistakes become very valuable.

Not that I should keep on sinning as Paul points out so well in Romans 6. But I am glad to have these stamps in my collection to remind me of God's love for me. I was speaking to my daughter this morning about the story in Luke of the sinful woman who washes Jesus' feet with her tears and dries them with her hair. The Pharisee whose home Jesus is visiting is appalled at this display and the fact that Jesus would allow this sinful woman to touch him. Jesus rebukes him with a parable about two men who owe a debt. One is substantially larger than the other yet both debts are canceled. Jesus asks who will be more grateful and the answer of course is the one whose debt was larger, the one with the most messed up stamps in his collection.

So what does your stamp collection look like? Do you push the mistakes to the side because looking at them causes pain and guilt? Or do you see them for what they are, opportunities to thank God for his amazing gift of forgiveness. Do you look at your mistakes and marvel at the greatness of God? Are you amazed that a holy and righteous God loves YOU and wants to have a relationship with you? Well he does, mistakes and all.