LIVING WITH CRACKED MUGS

I was sharing with someone recently about the challenges that suddenly confronted my family when we "became Christian".  My 17 year old sister was the first to accept Christ, and soon after at the age of 10 I made that commitment as well.  Months later both my Mom and Dad and other siblings decided to turn their lives over to Christ.  This was especially huge for my Dad, since the decision to follow Jesus meant some radical changes to his lifestyle.  

You might expect we suddenly became a home filled with peace and love and all the things a Christian home is supposed to be.  Well, we eventually did make some big steps in that direction, but only after a number of false starts and stressful months.  You see, although my Dad had lived a lifestyle that was far from Christian, he had in his mind a pretty clear picture of what he expected Christians to be like.  He was a perfectionist in whatever he took on himself, and he expected that of others.  

After our family attended church long enough to discover that the people there weren't perfect, Dad's reaction was "that place is full of hypocrites and I'm not going back".  I still have a vivid picture as a child seeing the pastor come to our house to help Dad work through the struggles he was having with a church full of imperfect people, convincing him he should give it another try.  Then a short time later my Dad couldn't tolerate it anymore and the cycle would start again.  I don't know how many times we went through that turmoil, but it was more than a couple.  Each time it looked like our family's new faith in God was going to come to an end.  

Dad never really got past being frustrated by what he saw as hypocrisy in the lives of Christian people, but he grew to understand the need to look to his own life and his own relationship with God.  Eventually he reached some level of acceptance that people are human and we're just not going to see perfection while still in these physical bodies.  

Why am I telling you all of this?  Well, I've been reflecting on how every church is a collection of people who are struggling with problems and imperfections.  Years ago I used to see bumper stickers that said "Be patient.  God's not finished with me yet."

Under Pastor Paul's leadership The Mission has adopted a vision of being a place of refuge. He challenges us from time to time to consider how we're doing with that vision.   We may not get it right every time, but I see a real desire among the people at The Mission to be a place where the broken and hurting can find care and acceptance; where spiritual needs and many other kinds of needs can be met.  Paul has encouraged us to be a place of restoration rather than judgement, where we understand we are all on a faith journey and we all have a responsibility to look out for one another on the way.  

Obviously that doesn't mean those with addictions should stay addicted, or those struggling with issues of morality should just continue on. On the contrary it means that with love that comes from Christ Himself we reach out to help, pray, teach, and encourage one another so each of us can move steadily closer to the people God wants us to be.

I may be oversimplifying, but it seems to me there are two pieces we have to get right.  First is the accepting part, being willing to welcome in love and draw to ourselves those who are hurting, and those seeking the place of refuge.  Second is the helping part, being willing and able to come alongside others in this journey of restoration and transformation.  

The Bible teaches that in the body of Christ we all have different personalities and experiences and abilities to bring to the table.  So in a place of refuge we all have different ways we can contribute to the process of helping others come to that place of transformation in Christ. Let's continue learning to be Christ-like in our attitude toward others, and in our desire to care and help one another.

"So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing."

                                                                                                      1 Thessalonians 5: 11