Fail...Really?

On Facebook, I have a young friend who frequently ends her posts with the word “fail”.  It may be something she has observed in society; it may be something that has been done to her; it may be something she has done herself.  In any case, it is something that disappoints her, and she writes, “Fail.”

That could be true of all our lives.  Here are some of mine for the past month:

• Thanksgiving Eve Day travel.  Fail.
• Palm Pre (smart phone).  Fail.
• Snowblower start.  Fail.
• Snowblower started but broken on huge snowplow deposits.  Fail.
• Palm Pre .  Fail again.
• Palm Pre.   Failed two days in a row
• December 12 worship attendance after 16 inches of snow and bitter cold.  Fail.
• December 12 offering—worst in modern history.  Fail.
• Broke a Christmas gift before I ever got it to the car.  Fail.
• Furnace thermostat.  Fail.
• Vikings.  Fail.  (You know my passion here…)

But my fails are minimal compared to the hardships for others.  In fact, the great things that happen eclipse the failures by many times.  I began to think of a young man and woman about 2000 years ago:

• Engaged, but woman is pregnant.  Fail.
• Said woman is in her teens.  Fail.
• Said fiancé intends to end engagement quietly.  Fail.
• At nine months of pregnancy, woman is forced to make a 103 mile journey either by foot or common animal (donkey?).  Fail.
• No room at the inn.  Fail.
• Earliest known visitors to the baby—smelly shepherds.  Fail.

You get the idea.

As we read the scriptures, we see many instances of “fail” in Jesus’ life.  He had to follow a most difficult road, up to and including his death on the cross.

But the non-fail aspects of his life and ministry make all the difference.  To all the world.  For all time.  We romanticize the holy birth of Jesus.  The list above would indicate it probably wasn’t as pristine as “Silent Night” or “Joy to the World” would have it.  Real life comes with challenges.  Jesus was able to meet all those challenges.  Because of that, we worship a baby born into crude surroundings and whose first bed was an animal’s feeding trough. 

That is amazing.  Non-fail.  The biggest non-fail of them all.