Neil McIver - Banana Splits

Neil McIver, ruminating about his recent craving for banana splits, reflects about how all of Christ’s disciples split from him and went “bananas” in the process. All of us have let Christ down, and have been living with the consequences of that failure or let-down. Even though we have fallen, we have the obligation to get up and proceed on our spiritual journey. History is replete with examples of individuals who were initially branded failures (such as Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein, and Walt Disney), but became legendary successes. Abraham Lincoln, after racking up an impressive list of failures, became one of our most successful presidents. Because of our wired in carnal human nature, absolutely no one is immune to failure, but we must learn from our failures, as inventors, athletes, and soldiers learn from their mistakes. With anything we try, we must make many mistakes before we learn the habit of success. Before Jesus’ disciples could attain spiritual successes, they had to undergo humiliating failures. The patriarchs and heroes of the Bible attained success after they had first failed. God uses failure to educate us, motivate us, and cultivate us. As long as we keep on trying, we have not really failed. Both success and failure are more a state of mind or attitude than a point event. Failing may give us the empathy and insight to help others. God has enlisted us an army of failures to transform us, through the blood of Jesus Christ, into a royal priesthood.

Abraham Lincoln * Albert Einstein * Babe Ruth * Bananas * Banana splits * Baseball players * Beatles * Broken promises * David * Decca Records * Desertion of disciples * Failing * Failures as Godly examples * Fear of failing * I Peter 2:9-10 * George Washington * Godly examples * Jonah * Let down * Living with failure * Matthew 26:55-56 * Marvelous light * Moses * New Coke * Nervous breakdowns * Proverbs 20:13; 24:16 * Psalms 119:21 * Romans 5:3-4 * Royal priesthood * Sacrifice * Solomon * Stephen Pyle * “The glory is not in failing, but rising every time we fail” * The incomplete book of failures (Open Library) * Thomas Edison * Tony Gwen * “You don’t drown by falling in the water, but in not getting up”