Thursday, August 25, 2005

Perfect Christians?

A reading from Saint Paul’s letter to the Philippians, chapter 3:

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.

In Sunday School, the lesson for the week was about what a wonderful place heaven is. The teacher was well prepared, but several of the children had a hard time paying attention, and often disrupted the class. At the end of the hour, the teacher asked her students to raise their hands if they would like to go and live in heaven. All of the children raised their hands—except one. When the teacher asked him why he didn’t want to go to heaven, the little boy replied: “I do want to go—but not with this bunch!”

A lot of people have the mistaken idea that a Christian is supposed to be perfect. Some don’t think that they could live a Christian lifestyle, so they turn down invitations to come to church. Others resent Christians for claiming to know what God approves and disapproves of, so when they see a Christian mess up, they are quick to point out that a Christian isn’t any holier than they are.

But Christianity isn’t about being perfect. Paul acknowledged that as hard as he worked for Jesus, he was not perfect. Everyone is born imperfect, and remains imperfect until the day they die. Being a Christian about trying to please God with your daily decisions, admitting when you mess up, asking Jesus to forgive you, and then going out and trying again.

Groucho Marx once said, “I certainly wouldn't want to join any organization that would be willing to have me as a member.” Christians realize that the church is made up entirely of sinners—imperfect people who make mistakes every day. What is special about being a Christian is knowing that Jesus will forgive our every mistake—all we have to do is ask Him to have mercy on us. Christians are not perfect, but they are forgiven. Please join me in praying:

Lord Jesus, we are imperfect, and every day we fail to please You. Please forgive us for our mistakes, and give us the desire to follow Your leadership as we go about today’s activities. In Your holy name we pray, amen.

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