2 Peter 4-9:
It is a constant struggle against the grain to be all that
God wants us to be. We are not inherently good. Despite our salvation, we are
still not perfect or love filled humans. We are filled with envy, jealousy,
bitterness, greed, shame, rejection, anger, gluttony, slothfulness, passions, etc.
We must work towards goodness every single second of our day. We must fight against the wrongness of our
thoughts and fleshly desires.
You may look at the people in your church with envy and
think, “I can never be them.” In reality, no, you never will, but you don’t want
to be! EVERYONE, not just you, comes with their own sets of sin struggles that
they bury. Do you think they would wear their
weakness on their sleeve so that anyone can see it? Of course not! But it is
their own private battle with the flesh and satan. This is the daily battle
that we ALL face. People just aren’t talking about it the way they should.
I am constantly catching and rebuking myself due to wrongful
thinking and sometimes wrongful speech. It is for this reason that I doubt
myself and my purpose. How can one be chosen to do what I feel compelled to do
for Christ if I cannot keep my flesh from speaking for me, even if it is just
in thought? This is where my “less than” mentality tries to take over.
Non-Christians believe we should be different because of the
‘front’ they see. Unfortunately, when we slip up and act human, they are put
off by us and call us hypocrites. No! We are humans who are trying to follow
Christ and do what He has asked of us, but we will by no means ever rid
ourselves of our flesh until we join Him. We are, and always will be human!
Earlier I said that “people just aren’t talking about it the
way they should.” This is what I mean by that. Have you ever been to a church
and felt out of place? I have. Perhaps
talking to some of the members made you feel as if you will never be good
enough to be a part of their church. Many of us have. But give this some
thought: Have you ever met someone who instinctively let their guard down and
let you know that they too are broken and struggling? They didn’t expect a drum
roll or fan-fare, but just showed you their humanness at the first opportunity
so that you would feel comfort in yours? THAT is what we should do for others.
At the first opportunity, show them the weaknesses we can afford to share so
that they can be made whole in theirs. Let them know that underneath the beauty
and grace of the body of this church is human hearts and stories that match
their own. They need not feel like foreigners in their own land. They can be a
part of this church and learn and grow as we all do. Daily.
But God gave us a
way to be forgiven and find salvation. It is up to us to become who He wants us
to be. It is a constant work, a constant refining process. You will find the
strength for that work in the bible, in fellowship, in serving, in faith,
goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, Godliness, mutual affection
and mostly in LOVE. We have been forgiven, we have been chosen and we will
succeed because of Christ! Nothing WE can
do will work. But our goal is to do the best we can to serve and to please Him.
Show love, people. Expose the weaknesses that will draw others to God. Show
them how He heals.
