Last week I wrote that most people fail to grasp that the church is made up of sinners. I am focusing here on people who attend church because they are looking for a safe haven, a place of comfort in difficult times, a place to worship from the heart – they are looking for Jesus. However, they are often taken aback to discover people who are rude and controlling, bitter and unforgiving in the church. They are surprised when people are dealing with abandonment issues, are fearful, or struggle to trust. People think that church is filled with people who have it all together – who are like Christ: without sin. Now, as a pastor (though you don’t need to be a pastor to be aware of this), this notion could not be further from the truth. People in church can be petty, insecure, angry, greedy, ambitious, hungry for power, self-centered, selfish, prejudiced, judgmental and unforgiving. But, they can also be magnanimous, profoundly secure, gracious, generous, selfless, kind, loving, accepting, forgiving and merciful. Church is a mixed bag.

We expect Christians to be just like Jesus: sinless and perfect. However, walking with Christ, being transformed by his presence and work in our lives, is a process. When we put our trust in the faithfulness of Christ, the Spirit of God works in such a way as to transform us to be more like Christ – not Christ, but more like Christ than we were when we first met Him. Keep this in mind with any church you may attend. The real problem arises when we as Christians deny our sinfulness, are indifferent about allowing the Spirit to shape our lives, and are foolish enough to think no one can see our dysfunctions.

I have often wondered why Twelve Step Programs and programs such as Celebrate Recovery have such a freedom in their gatherings. I believe it is because everyone is working from the same premise – an acknowledgment of their powerlessness over an addiction, their powerlessness over sin. There is no sense in pretending or posturing as though his or her life is together – everyone already knows it’s not. Their mess is in the open; there is no hiding. The repercussions of this type of honesty can be humiliating, but it can also be liberating. When a person is finally honest about their sin, it allows them to see how deep the love of God is for them and how powerful it is to be truly accepted just as you are. Also, they find themselves being able to extend the very grace given to them by God to others who are struggling with their own issues.

Over the years, I have learned that one can only love to the depth they have experienced being loved. The same is true of grace – one can only extend grace to the depth they have experienced grace. A loveless and ungracious brand of Christianity stems from not understanding or experiencing the depth and breadth of God’s love and forgiveness. For those of us who share the word it is helpful to heed the words of the pastor Johnny Ray Youngblood who said, “God sends sinful men to preach to sinful men. I’m just another beggar, tellin’ other beggars where to find bread.” [1]

Until next time…

[1] Fleming Rutledge, The Crucifixion: Understanding the Death of Jesus Christ, (Grand Rapids, Michigan/Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Pub. Co., 2015), 22