Vulnerable

In 2007, President Stephen Veazey introduced a new word into our scriptural lexicon. The word is vulnerable.

“Be vulnerable to divine grace.” (D.&C. 163:10b)

Previous to this, the word does not appear in scripture, although examples of that vulnerability fill the pages of our scriptural texts.

Often, in response to some post in this blog, the authors receive email notes from people who want to offer us their comments, but do not want to go public with them. It is an interesting phenomenon. There is a certain kind of fear in putting one’s honest thoughts out there for everyone to read. It makes one feel vulnerable. The sentiment seems to be, “If people only knew what I really think, they might criticize or attack me. I’d be vulnerable.”

Of course no such attack has ever happened in response to any post or comment in What’s the Good Word. It is not that kind of conversation, and this is not that kind of community. Still, to feel vulnerable is uncomfortable, and we are reluctant to go there.

The statement in D.&C. 163 calls us to be vulnerable “to divine grace.” At first glance, that seems contradictory and counter-intuitive. After all, we might reason, isn’t divine grace simply God desiring our highest good? How can that make us vulnerable? We need only to look to the stories of Jesus or any great prophet to know the answer. Perhaps that is what scares us.

To think of divine grace as God desiring our highest good is to look at the world from a self-centred perspective. It is all about me, and God wants the best for me! But over and over, the examples of scripture and of life point in another direction. The spirit of life calls us to go beyond our selfish natures and serve others in the spirit and presence of a divine grace that wants the best for everyone, even the most vulnerable! That is exactly what Jesus is recorded as doing, and those who claim his name are called to go and do likewise. (See Luke 10:37.) To be vulnerable to divine grace is to allow ourselves to be bent to the divine will. It calls us to be open to others, even though we might well get bruised and emotionally bloodied in the process.

Are we ready to go there? Are we willing to be vulnerable so as to bring grace to others?

May your day be blessed by the presence of grace today, and may we be vulnerable to its desire to use us for the benefit of others.

Posted by Carman