This morning I have been working on a sermon series for this fall. I am looking at the topic of sin and virtues and their relationship to the journey of faith.
Have you ever noticed that the more you "sin" in society the easier it is to fit in? And the more we seek to live in the example of Christ the more society labels us as misfits.
Eric Elmes says, "A healthy church is a church of misfits."
What do you think?
It is my prayer that I might count myself as a misfit. I try each day to be someone who seeks to be humble, grateful, faithful, hopeful, mindful, generous, and loving. But let me be honest, I am not there yet. I still have days of pride, envy, anger, sloth, greed, gluttony, and lust.
What keeps me going is the message of God's Love. Even though I do not have my act together God still loves and values me. It is only through God's transforming grace which we bring me closer to perfection.
The truth is I will always be striving to live a virtuous life. And I will probably never practice these virtues to the level of resolve and perfection in which Jesus modeled for us. As misfits we find liberation in our confession of our failures and inabilities.
I do not know about you, but I would rather be a part of a misfit church than a perfect church. I would rather journey together with people who get labeled "bad Christians" because we still live days where sin shows up in daily living. To be with people who still get angry, are envious, or might struggle with greed or lust but are willing to confess these sins. To journey with people who recognize these thoughts, actions, and habits as counterproductive to God’s Kingdom and thus are authentic and honest about our need for Jesus and God’s grace. I would rather journey with this group of misfits, than a group of "good Christians" at a perfect church who have no need for Jesus or God's Grace.
How about you?
No comments:
Post a Comment