| Failure is Not an Option - article by Joel Hempel
Well, actually, it is. No one gets to walk this earth without experiencing countless occasions of failing to do what is needed, what is expected, or what any reasonable person would agree is the right thing to do. People mess up! I hate it when I fail, but I must admit I’m good at it. For example, yesterday, I failed my family. The story is too long to give you all the details, but let me say that yesterday (Sunday), I had the opportunity to say yes to hosting our out-of-town family, and I failed to do so. I should have first consulted with Marcia, but I didn’t. I should have slowed down my first impulse and prayed about it. I did not. Once I recognized the error of my ways, I should have made right what I screwed up. I did not. There are lots of reasons for not inviting them, I tell myself. Some of them are reasonable. But the bottom line, I failed. Admittedly, what I did – or failed to do – did not rise to the level of sin, but it was unintentionally hurtful. However, I do need to make a correction. What I failed to do is not the bottom line. As disappointing as it is, failing to do the right thing or failing to be the Christian we want to be is not the end. And it does not define us. What does define us is our identity as Christians, as forgiven sons and daughters of God, as friends of Jesus who are called to be caring, hospitable, and generous toward others. But when we forget who we are or are caught up in our neediness, thankfully, we have a God who is quick to forgive (see Psalm 86:3-7). Though our God is quick to forgive, we need to be equally quick to receive our Lord’s forgiveness. I know I tend to linger in the shame of failure. That is not God’s desire for us. In his excellent book entitled Forgive, Timothy Keller includes a quote attributed to Dutch writer Corrie ten Boom: “When God throws our sins into the deepest sea, he puts up a sign, ‘No fishing!’” Let’s face it, for mature Christians, failing to love as Jesus has loved us is painful. When we let down people we care about, when we are slow to attend to others in need, our Lord wants us to apologize, to seek healing with the one offended. But then, we are to settle into the ever-present mercy of God. | 
