God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person’s failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him.
Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved.
Our cat Lucy had the most demure appearance – and she was a sweet cat. She could sit and look pretty – and innocent! But in truth, she had her “ways” – and she ran this household! Mabel, our calico cat and Lucy’s litter mate, stays mostly upstairs with Greg during the day…while Lucy stayed mostly with me downstairs – usually in my office. Both cats had certain spaces in the house they claimed as “theirs”...Lucy more than Mabel. We would catch the “girls” giving each other loving face washings…but like all siblings, we had to break up a few squabbles, too!
So Mabel has spent the last few days tiptoeing around…looking for Lucy. It’s as if she is quite certain that Lucy will emerge unexpectedly from some nook or cranny – that she is waiting just around the corner to pounce. Clearly, she has “trust issues”. And this is how we often react to God. We are quite sure that He is waiting in the wings to come down on us for something we said or did…to remind us just how awful and unworthy we are of His love and care. And nothing could be further from the truth.
Read this passage again. God did not send Jesus to earth just so He could say, “See how bad you are? You are NOTHING like Jesus! What is wrong with you?!” In truth, God sent Jesus to say, “I know you have issues…I know you aren’t perfect…but you are loved anyway. Trust me…believe in me…and I will fix everything!”
Author and speaker Jen Hatmaker has just released a few chapters of her newest book,*For the Love: Fighting for Grace in a World of Impossible Standards, which will be released in mid-August 2015. In the chapter titled “Dear Church…” she writes…
Church people are regular old sinners too. If I could fix this, I would. As it turns out, the church isn’t a gathering of shiny new pennies. It lets anyone in the door! All sorts of hooligans fill the sanctuaries: kind and good ones, angry and cynical ones, mean and judgmental ones, smart and funny ones, broken and sad ones, weird and awkward ones, precious and loving ones, scared and wounded ones, brave and passionate ones, insiders and outliers, newbies and lifers and trying-one-more-timers. Just a whole bunch of human people. Every church has all these folks. It is just the hottest mess, but clearly you belong here because everyone does. Find your little faith tribe (it exists) and learn to love it with all the grace and humility you can muster.I don’t know about you, but I take heart in knowing that God is not waiting to pounce on me for all of my misgivings. I am forever thankful that He loves regular old sinners and hooligans like me…and I am trusting that He will cover me in His love, grace and mercy every minute of the day. What about you?
©2015 Debbie Robus
*http://www.amazon.com/Love-Fighting-Grace-Impossible-Standards/dp/0718031822/ref=sr_1_sc_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1426102938&sr=8-1-spell&keywords=hatmaker+for+the+lov
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