Grace

The other day I was thinking about grace.  As Christians we talk about it, sing about it, hear sermons about it, and think about it.

A few years ago I started to look at how we treat the sinful people of this world, including fellow Christians.  This explanation might sound strange to you, but I think some sins are the "cool" kind to confess.  Perhaps we have told some lies, didn't honour our parents, coveted our neighbors nice car and house, and got angry when we should have shown restraint.  My purpose is not to diminish the importance of confession and forgiveness, but I have noticed that not all sins are created equal among Christians.  The sins I mentioned above are what we might call "acceptable," because they are easy for most of us to process, accept an apology, and move on.  But what about sins that lead to failed marriages or criminal records?  If you walk into a room full of Christians (let's call it a church) to confess one of "those" sins, it would make us feel uncomfortable (I know, understatement of the year).  In fact, when those sins are discovered (because they are too embarrassing to confess publicly for fear of how we will be treated), we push the sinner away, instruct them to clean things up, and then come back when you have everything together.

Of course, there are many wonderful people and churches who do the complete opposite and welcome everyone with open arms.  They truly are trying to be like Jesus by saying, "come as you are."

I could make a list of Christians who have lost their families, friends, and jobs because of sin.  But I won't. Instead I want to present a story of a life that was transformed.  I think we have all lost our way at some point in our walk with God.  Some repercussions are more serious than others.  It doesn't get more serious than this:



The result is this song.

I know it isn't always easy to accept each other the way we are.  But I once saw a sign in front of a church that said, "This church does not have any perfect people.  The only different between you and us, is that we have accepted the grace God offers as a free gift."  I love that.  I think if more people knew that we mess up just as much as they did, they would be more interested in knowing more about the God we serve.