Running is my “me” time. That’s my time where I leave my cares, my concerns, my worries, my doubts, my fears at the door and hit the pavement. It’s absolutely liberating. I go outside and forget about everything that has happened and forget about my concerns about what will happen next. I spend anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour and a half soaking in sun and shaking off sweat (and some fat too).

The problem is, eventually I have to go back inside. And I have this terrible habit of crossing the threshold and picking up all those doubts, worries, concerns, cares, etc and putting them right back on my shoulders as I walk up the stairs. I have a tendency to dwell on my mistakes, my weaknesses, and let them fester inside. I beat myself up.

The problem with this is that, while our weaknesses do not define us, they do help to make us who we are…human. We are beautifully imperfect beings in need of a beautifully perfect Savior. Fortunately, Christ is perfect and wants to balance out our imperfection with His perfection. Paul goes so far as to say that we should “boast all the more gladly about (our) weaknesses.”

The term “Christian” carries such a grossly negative connotation these days because people view Christianity as hypocritical. And rightly so. Somewhere along the lines, people quit reading II Corinthians 12:9 and Romans 8:37-39 and forgot that we are all ugly on the inside but that nothing can separate from God’s love. My sin is no greater than anyone else’ sin in Gods eyes and it works the same for your sin. 

Degrees of sin is a man-made system that is false and condemning. Imagine a world where Christians were known for bragging about their own faults and imperfections. Imagine the opportunities it provides to tell people about a Savior that loves, forgives, and strengthens in spite of ourselves. Boast about your weaknesses. Don’t dwell on them. Don’t let them fester inside. Give them to God, the perfector of our faith, who can take them and use them for His glory.