2 Corinthians 12:9, But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.
We’ve all heard it. We sometimes quote it. But we almost rarely do it. In our postmodern adrenaline-pumped Christianity, weaknesses, whenever mentioned, are often the targets to be overcome. They are seen as stains on our glorious bodies and must be purged post-haste under the power of the Holy Spirit. Until then, we are inclined to keep them under wrap, lest they cause others to stumble or defile the name of our Lord, or God forbid, make us look ungodly. When our beautiful facades piece together a fragile tapestry at church, who dares to boast about weaknesses?
Look, I’m not proposing that we flaunt our flesh-driven old selves at church and sin without a care in the world. We understand the line that separates weaknesses and sins. While we deal with the latter, I believe we also need the room, in our hearts, in our homes, in our churches, where we can practice 2 Corinthians 12:9. So, allow me to start with mine.
I have plenty of personal flaws, in some I boast, from some I grow. What I want to share here are the ones that surface during interpretation. Specifically, I have a terribly hard time with on-the-fly memory (working memory), especially when interpreting long lists of items such as “能力，權柄，榮耀，尊貴, …” The longer the list, the faster my heart rate goes. I almost always end up missing one or a whole lot more during each session. This Achilles heel, so to speak, is not going anywhere even after years of practice. It is indeed a weakness of mine.
This weakness most certainly affects the outcome of interpretation and is open for all to see. But that doesn’t mean I should stop embarrassing myself and my God by quitting. That doesn’t mean I must do everything in my power to hide this weakness. That doesn’t even mean I’m a terrible interpreter, #sorrynotsorry. If Paul’s weaknesses did not deter Paul, neither should ours deter us.
What DOES it mean then? These weaknesses invite me to pray more for my interpretation than I otherwise would. They motivate me to practice more, study more, and creatively work around them in order to deliver better interpretation. (I will share some of my tips in another post.) They bring me closer to God and remind me to forever rely on Him. It means that every small victory over this weakness reveals the sufficiency of God’s grace and His power made perfect in this weakness.
Therefore I will continue to serve while boasting all the more gladly about my inadequate memory capacity, along with all other weaknesses. Therefore I encourage you to serve and boast about yours, whatever they may be, so that Christ’s power may rest on you and me.