The Redemptiveness of God

One of the things I have learned on a very deep level over the past three years is the fact that God is a redeemer. God has revealed Himself throughout the Scripture as a redeemer, it is His nature to redeem, and all that God does flows out of His agape love with the purpose of redemption. I think that I could prove that Biblically and theologically. But I also know it experientially. Knowing truth experientially moves it from the realm of theological theory, to the realm of deep-seated reality in our lives.

I have not only experienced great failure in my life, but I have also experienced God taking that failure and redeeming it, using it for His purposes and working it for good. Is that not what Paul tells us when he writes, "This we know, all things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to His purpose" (Rom. 8:28)? We generally apply that truth to adversity, trials, and suffering. But it applies to our failures as well. Are our failures not included in the "all things?"

Did God work David's moral failure for good? Was David a better man after his sin with Bathsheba? Psalm 32 and 51 show us the brokenness of David's repentant heart. God worked David's failure for good. Not only his good, but for the good of everyone of us who have turned to these psalms for strength in the midst of our brokenness.

Did God use Peter's denial of Christ for good? Was something broken in Peter that needed to be broken? Did God redeem it for good?

God often uses our sins and failures as the means by which He draws us into greater intimacy with Him. I have found this to be true in my own experience. Failure shows us our own weakness and moral corruption. It forces us to face the reality of ourselves, and it brings us to the foot of the Cross.

In addition, God takes our failure, as he did Peter's, and uses us to "strengthen our brother" (See Luke 22:31-32). Our failure becomes the "fertilizer" that God uses to grow a new ministry. God sends us to those who must traverse the valley of darkness that we have walked through. God brings our failures full circle, if we allow Him, as He turns a negative into a positive. That is the redemptiveness of God.