Further Than The Mess

I've been reading in 1 and 2 Chronicles the past several days and noticed something today. Most of the kings in those days as they ruled Israel did may wrong things. Even when they started out as good and righteous rulers, in due time they fell into some sin, or idolatry or something. Their lives were far from perfect. Then as I thought about this as to why it happened to almost all of them, it occurred to me that the same can be said for just about all the key people in the Bible. They all messed up in very serious ways. Abraham, Moses,  David, Solomon, Jacob, Judah, Lot, of course the 12 disciples of Jesus all abandoned Him, Gideon is another.  Yet we regard them as great examples of faith and obedience to God, and we should because in spite of their failings the will of God was still furthered through their lives.  The only two I could think of who didn't mess up was Joseph, and Daniel, and Joseph may have been arrogant towards his brothers because of the visions God was giving him.  This gives us reason to hope in our time and in our own lives. The Lord knows the culture and times we live in are pretty messed up. He also knows that our lives can be pretty messed up as well. In spite of putting on our Sunday face and demeanor, many if not most of us have a past, or a present situation that we're not proud of at all. We live with the realization that we blew it and are now facing the fallout of our mistakes and unthinking actions.
But, this is where these Old Testament saints come into view and can help us. They were far from perfect.  We would call many of them today dysfunctional, abusive, hateful, cowardly, etc. But they are not defined by their failures. They are defined by the grace of God in their lives, and their turning to Him even in the midst of the wrongs they had done.
We read of them in Hebrews 11, and while we have respect for their accomplishments as they followed God by faith, we don't remember so much the failures they were guilty of as they lived in the plan of God.  So I was helped today as I read of these kings, and thought of the saints of old time, because I am not defined by my failures, though they are many. You should not be either. Is your life messy right now? Take heart because if, and that's a huge if, if you seek Christ in repentance and a true desire to increase in Godliness and leave the mess behind, He will clear it all up in His own way and timing. You will be like the heroes of old and not be remembered for the mistakes, but for the will of God being furthered through your life. That is why we're here, in these messy times and messy lives.  We demonstrate to a messed up culture that what God has done for us in our messes, He will do for them in theirs. Thus, the will of God through Jesus Christ is furthered in spite of ourselves, but in the triumph of His grace!

The Challenge Of Mercy

I've read many articles recently describing how church attendance across denominations is declining, at least in the USA. I wonder if part of the reason is that many people who are broken and marginalized just don't feel welcomed in many churches today. That would be a shame because those are the exact people Jesus reached out to. They were ostracized by society, and by the religious people of His time. The tax collectors, lepers, divorced, prostitutes, destitute, even those under domination of wicked spirits and demonic forces, all found Jesus to be welcoming and were the recipients of His message of grace and mercy.  He didn't excuse their sins, but set them free by forgiveness and the challenge to "go and sin no more." Many didn't need that word of encouragement because after their encounter with Jesus they willingly let go of their sin to lay hold of that which is much truer and freeing.  They found true fulfillment.  Jesus exemplified holiness, purity, in combination with love and compassion. 
Perhaps people today perceive the church as to judgmental and sometimes hypocritical. That is, we talk a great talk, but the lives of many who claim fidelity to Jesus are not very different from those to whom we speak our message. Most people today know what the church in America is against. Perhaps they think that if they come to a service they may not be welcomed because they are engaged in those things we so loudly condemn. Although the church today is engaged in many good works and outreaches to those in need, many times we are portrayed as complainers, those who condemn others, and not very welcoming.
We can never excuse sin, or tolerate sinful behavior. Our challenge is to not condemn or turn away those for whom Christ also died. He forgives His people of great sins, and the same mercy He has shown to us He longs to show to others.
We don't want to be like the  "elder brother" in the parable of the prodigal son. The younger brother was forgiven, in spite of his sinful lifestyle because he repented after he realized the wrongness of his way. The elder brother however, was filled with criticism, legalism, self righteousness, and stubbornly refused to be gracious to his broken brother, or his merciful father. The broken one was restored,  the self righteous one refused to enter the celebration feast. May God help us to rise to the challenge. We can be strong for holiness, and speak against the hurtful ways of sin, but we can also combine love, mercy and the compassion that Jesus exemplified in His time on Earth. He shows the same mercy to all of us each day, therefore we can do likewise to those around us.