Why you don't have to be perfect to be a Christian
There's been a big misunderstanding! A large part of the world is under this misconception that they are too bad for God to ever love them. People when talking about church say, “The roof would cave in if I walked into a church building.” They're of the opinion that their mess and their brokenness has disqualified them from the love of God.
The world has a picture of God as one who sits in heaven laughing and pointing at mans brokenness and wants to zap people with lightning. That He's a mad man who enjoys seeing people suffer. So people feel that there is no hope and there is no point even trying.
Friends can I just say for the record that this is not true! God does not sit in Heaven laughing at your brokenness and is not eagerly waiting for you to stuff up so He can zap you with lightning. I’m sorry if people have placed this burden on you, you were hurt by some people or some angry christians told you to get yourself together! I hope that I can encourage you and remind you that you don't have to be perfect to be a Jesus follower.
Jesus doesn't just love the 'elite of society'
When you read the bible you actually get a picture of God’s love for humanity! It’s scandalous, it’s ridiculous and mind blowing really. When we read the bible it's obvious that Jesus was fully man (He would often become weary, tired and hungry) yet He was fully God (he performed miracles and lived a perfect life). Through all the Gospel’s (Matthew, Mark, Luke & John) we see Jesus interacting with people. He did not interact with just the elite of society but with the widows, prositutes, tax collectors, murders and fisherman etc.
There's one particular story in the bible that always inspires and encourages me. It’s found in Matthew 9 when Jesus is eating with the worst of society really. The Pharisees who hated Jesus could not believe that Jesus was eating with these people. They were utterly shocked that He would associate Himself with them. You see this gives us a great insight into God’s heart. He wants to sit at the table of messy people. He wants to do life with the broken hearted and with the people that don’t have it all together.
10Later, as Jesus was dining at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with Him and His disciples. 11When the Pharisees saw this, they asked His disciples, “Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
12On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 13But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’a For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
Jesus loves messy people. He was not ashamed to be sitting and eating with this group of people that was known as being bad people. The people Jesus was hanging out with were the people that would not dare enter a church building because the roof may fall in on them, yet Jesus was their friend.
jesus wants to sit at your table
Jesus wants to sit at your table. Maybe you’ve been thinking that God is too far away, not interested in you and doesn’t care about you. Friend He desires to sit at your table and do life with you. You can’t earn His love, He demonstrated His love for us by dying upon a cross. Taking on the sins of the world, so that we could have freedom and be in a relationship with Him. Could I encourage you to turn to Jesus and begin a relationship with Him. You don’t have to jump through hoops, clean yourself up before you come to Him, just come as you are and He will accept you. Simply ask Him to come into your life. If you want to begin that journey, send me a message I’d love to hear from you and help you anyway I could. Could I also encourage you to get connected into a local church.
Finally you may be a Christian reading this and you know Jesus personally. My question to you is who is at your table? Jesus was not afraid to be associated with broken people, neither should we. Let’s be known as people who love and care about the people around us. Let love be the driving force behind everything that we do. Let’s not be like the Pharisees pointing fingers and judging who Jesus sat with.
“Jesus was not afraid to be associated with broken people, neither should we.”
Let’s take the good news of Jesus to everyone around us. I want to be known as a guy who sits at tables with all sorts of people from all walks of life. How about you?