I have heard it 1,000 times. I don't belong at church. I don't fit in. I am not good enough. I am a sinner.
Jeff, you don't understand- I have been divorced. I killed people in Vietnam. I cheat others in business. I am struggling with drug abuse. I am cheating on my husband. I visit hookers when I am out of town. I once killed a person. I think of myself almost exclusively. I have spent my family into great debt. I feel like a little child hiding from the world. I have impure thoughts. I have let down so many people. I have disappointed God. I, I, I, I........ and on it goes.
So, let me ask you a question...... was an audience with our Father something that you think you should earn? Or is it a free gift?
You know it. It is a free gift. Jesus loved the prostitutes, the sinners, the broken. The only people that he squared off with were the ones that thought they had it all together.
So is this our logic? Let's wait until we have it all together, and then come to Jesus? We will never have it together, and by the way, God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.
At this very moment, God's grace is reaching out to you. You are welcome. You are forgiven. You are graced. You are accepted.
Don't hold yourself back from God or his family. He is not holding himself back from you.
It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.
3 comments:
Love this post. Even those of us who "have it together" don't really. Sometimes our congregation, because it is so awesome, appears from the outside to be something that others can't live up to. When reality is, most of us get it because we know we don't have it together and we come to Jesus with humility. We just aren't always the best at revealing those tender parts of who we are. Maybe if we were better at that, we could connect even more people to Jesus Christ.
for years i thought i wasn't good enough until one day God made me realize that on my own i would never be good enough. Thats the point because its only through the work that Christ did on the cross that i can be reconciled as well as overcome. come just as you are, thats what God wants.
There are some people who don't feel like they belong, but let us assure that Jeff belongs, big time. If Tuesday (4-17) was a test, to see whether we miss you if your blog doesn't post, you passed with flying colors. WE MISS YOU. Sure hope you're okay.
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