Be Vulnerable

Foxes have holes; birds have nests, but the Child of Humanity has nowhere to lay his head. Luke 9:58

A young housewife cried. She felt so weak, needy, small. But then she thought of her baby. He was all those things, too. He was so dependent upon others, so vulnerable – yet that was precisely why she loved him so much!

When people are hard, prickly, proud, defensive, no feeling can flow. They cannot reach out and touch. Whereas when people are vulnerable it draws out our love for them. Is this why God made us with a capacity to be hurt, so that we can love and be loved more deeply? God needs us and wants us to be lovable. By being vulnerable we are being considerate to God, we are being human.

Celtic Christians were vulnerable. They had no riches stored up, no protected stone mansions – they were vulnerable to the elements, to predators, to visitors. And how they were loved – loved by the people and loved much by God. We know this because people saw special guards of honour sent from heaven to welcome them when they died. How lovely to be vulnerable!

Yet it is all too easy to adopt an ‘I’m all right Jack’ attitude. How can we overcome this? This is how members of the Northumbria Community try to do it:

We are called to intentional, deliberate VULNERABILITY.
We embrace the vulnerability of being teachable
expressed in a discipline of prayer
in exposure to Scripture
in a willingness to be accountable to others
in ordering our ways and our heart in order to effect change …
by making relationships the priority and not reputation …
living openly amongst unbelievers and other believers in a way that the life of God in ours can be seen, challenged or questioned.
The Rule of Life of the Northumbria Community

Take from me, O Lord:
Pride and prejudice
Hardness and hypocrisy
Selfishness and self-sufficiency
That I may be vulnerable, like you.