Good morning, My Dear Friends,
Do you know what I hear sometimes? I’ll have people say to me, “Well, I’m not going to come to church until I get my life together.” To which I want to say, “Well, then, you’ll never do it. Because you’re never going to get your life together!”
Christianity is not about perfection. However, there are a lot of people who believe that, if you claim to be a Christian, you’re claiming to be perfect. No sin, no weakness, no problems, aiming to achieve perfection — which always makes imperfection unacceptable.
That, however, is absolutely not true. Even some of the most mature Christians I know get terribly confused on this one. The Bible says that an authentic Christian is simply someone who has made the decision to believe in Jesus as his or her forgiver — and then follow him as their leader. Nowhere in that is perfection or sinlessness. Instead, there is the intentional effort and sincere desire to try to live every day like Christ to the best of your abilities.
Don’t be disappointed in a Christian who fails your expectations or in a Christian that you catch sinning. An authentic Christian is someone who is truly working on his or her life under God’s supervision and God’s direction. It’s someone who is sincerely trying to become the person God intends him or her to be. It’s one who is committed to the process of being transformed into the likeness of Christ. But that’s a lot different than perfection.
When Paul wrote to his young friend Timothy, he said, “Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance. Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason, I was shown mercy, so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life” (1 Timothy 1:15-16).
Following Christ is not about being perfect. Come just as you are, receive God’s gift of a personal relationship, and then let him begin the transformation within you.
Just start where you are,
Bruce Jones, Pastor Imagine Church
