Vulnerability

Think about a baby. Completely dependent upon his parents, he is without defenses -- vulnerable in all ways. He depends on others for food, for cleanliness, for water, for a place to sleep, for transportation from one place to another, for protection and safety.

Jesus came to the world as a baby. He was completely vulnerable, and he chose that vulnerability. When he became human, vulnerability was one of the characteristics of humanity he couldn't avoid.

It's a characteristic we can't avoid, either.

How are we called to be vulnerable for God?

• We are emotionally vulnerable because love opens us up for hurt.
• Risk makes us vulnerable. When we take a chance and use our gifts in mission and ministry, we are vulnerable to failure. There's no getting around it -- when we step out of the box, sometimes we fall down.
• When we speak about God, we are vulnerable to ridicule.

And yet, we are called to love, to risk and to tell the story. We are called to vulnerability by the one who made himself vulnerable at birth until death on a cross.