Perfect

Does Mr. Perfect remind you of someone?
Go look in the mirror.
Any resemblance?
No.
Oh, really?!
Interesting. Well, let's keep that in mind...

There's a common thought that a lot of people have about the church that I think is terribly sad. So many think that they need to be perfect in order to set foot inside a church. That if the church really knew everything about them, they wouldn't be accepted. That they'll never escape the sideways glances, the pointed fingers, and the whispered accusations. Their past will always haunt them, and they'll never be good enough. And unfortunately, it seems that the church is often actually the root problem behind propagating this attitude, because far too often these scenarios are exactly what's happened.

It breaks my heart to hear that in the one place where people should be able to experience grace, love, and forgiveness, they are met with judgment, contempt, and guilt. It makes me sad to see how often people who need to be loved on the most are the ones who are shut out most frequently. I know...because I've done it. And it makes me sick to think about how awful that is. It's so far opposite from how Jesus treated people, and it's wrong. It's even more upsetting to realize how many times we as the church get in the way and destroy Jesus' message by being so self-righteous.

No one is perfect. Period.

There's nothing that we could ever do to earn our salvation, and there's nothing that we've ever done that can't be covered by God's grace and love. It's only by the grace of God that we have been saved!

Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil. All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else. But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!)

So next time you're tempted to think you're better than someone else, think again. The next time you start to think that you're perfect, go look in the mirror again. I guarantee that you won't see Mr. Perfect looking back at you.

My apologies for the implied cuss word, but I love how Perry Noble lays it out so well in one of his blog posts:  “This Sh_t Is Awesome!”