I have always loved that part in the movie, The Passion, when Jesus epically walks out of the tomb at the end and you can see the wounds in his hands, but also the glory that surrounds him. It gives me goosebumps everytime. At my university we are participating in the series by Christopher West discussing Theology of the Body, which is based on the teachings of Pope John Paul the II (check it out! it is amazing). Christopher West talks about how Christ's wounds in the resurecction weren't taken from him.....they were glorified. He relates this to the fact that our wounds/ our weaknesses can be glorified. I was like Christopher West...SAY WHAT! My weaknesses glorified!

  Christ continues to bring me back to the verse by the wonderful Paul in 2 Corinthians, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness" (12:9). I had always thought this meant that if I overcame my weakness Christ's strength could shine through. If I just got rid of that weakness, his strength could abide. Christ has recently been showing me something different. It is exactly my weakness that he wants, not to get rid of it, but to glorify it. My weakness will always be there for I am a sinner. If I just offer this weakness to him, what beautiful things he can do. For example, say I had a problem with gossiping. Everytime I have an urge to gossip, I should recognize it, and ask Christ to grant me the grace not to do it. I should not ignore that the urge is there or get frustrated that it never goes away. Everytime the temptation comes, I should offer it to him and know that if I fail, his mercy is always waiting for me. If I resisted, even though it was hard, it shows that his power/his grace can do amazing things. Or, if I gave in, but had the humility to run into his hands of mercy, it shows his power/his grace can do the impossible of wiping a soul clean.

  Offer Christ your weakness, but know that it won't be taken away....it will be used for his glory.