what a mess
I can hardly believe how frustrating it can be dealing with people from day to day. Whether it's at the church, in the community, or at Bridgeway Counseling I am constantly encountering people that have some serious issues. The junk that we have to wade through in order to get to the heart of spiritual matters seems endless. Lives on every side are absolute messes. I have found myself longing to be in a church where the people are pulled together and the most troubling problems to face are about finding more volunteers to work in children's ministry or what color the cushions should be on the new chairs for the sanctuary. But here's what God has shown me...
I am a messy person. I am an utter mess. My life isn't all in order. I've got serious issues- mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually. I am doing everything possible to try to keep my exterior in order in hopes that nobody penetrates my thin candy coating to see the disarray within. As Casting Crowns puts it in one of their songs, I am continuing on with the "stained glass masquerade." It really sucks admitting to this, but what is the point of spiritual life if I can't be truly transparent?
Here's the thing, I'm in the process of change. Part of that process is taking seriously the passages in Scripture that tell us to confess our sins one to another and to seek to make amends with my brother when I have wronged him.
I am a messy person. I know you are too. And I'm not really sorry at all about blowing your cover. It's time that we all fess up to our shortcomings. Through the Twelve Steps of A.A. the men and women in recovery are instructed to realize their wrongs, confess them, and seek to make amends. These Twelve Steps are derived from steadfast Biblical principles. I have begun to see first hand the importance of theses men and women confessing their shortcomings one-on-one and in group settings. Why does it help? There are no secrets. No more shame, guilt, darkness, or skeletons. They are speaking in a safe environment with no fear of condemnation. They know that the person sitting next to them is as screwed up as they are.
The Bible tells us to confess verbally our sins... not only to God, but to others. We have grown to really love ignoring this fundamental principle and discipline of Christian life. We have come to have a mentality that suggests that I am okay not being the first to cast a stone, but I'll hold in ready in my hand just in case I get "found out." Brothers... Sisters... this can not be any longer! We are making a mockery of the word of God through this sin of exclusion!
I have come to realize through prayer, the exploration of the Scriptures, and the experience of life that I will not find a church that has everything all buttoned up and in order. When I find that I am convinced I will also find a body of people in straightforward denial. These people will be judgmental and fearful. They will be anxiety stricken and disobedient to God's word. They will be cold, calloused, and... worst of all, unloving. I would not want to be involved in that church. I do, however, pity them. My heart goes out to them because they need to experience the grace and mercy of our loving God in a way that will permit them to be vulnerable and let their mess show.
Every person in the Bible is messy. The heroes of our faith are adulterers, murderers, cheats, liars, drunks, bigots, and so on... There is only one who was not a mess, but he chose to get dirty. Jesus came to get his hands dirty. Ministry is filthy. A potter can not form clay without sticking his hands in and getting messy. In my experience, the clay has a tendency to be strewn about the whole of the potter. The potter gets muck all over him... and that's what makes it great! The potter becomes a part of the pot and the pot becomes a part of the potter. So it is with ministry.
Someone reading this right now is thinking, "Fat chance of that every happening in my church. I could never actually tell someone about my sins." Maybe you're thinking that you have too much at risk and that if anyone found out your shortcomings that it would ruin your career. I've dealt with this too. There are a ton of these fears that register in the mind. What finally convinced me to take the leap of confession was a simple question. Would I rather have false security in sin or have assurance of forgiveness in truth? Confession is a matter of obedience to God with real spiritual consequences. If we live our lives hiding behind the thin veneer of saying the "Christian" things and doing the "Christian" things and listening to "Christian" music and etc... we degrade our faith to a works-based salvation. But it is by grace that we are saved, through faith. We must trust God to work all things out for the good of those who love him and are called according to his purposes. Try believing God when he tells you it is good for you to confess your sins. I'm not promising there won't be pain, but I can assure you that God will provide the healing of the soul that comes with response to his will. And that is a beautiful thing.
Go ahead. Be yourself. Be messy. The way I am seeing things now is that I really wouldn't want it any other way. So watch out... there might be stains on the carpet and mud on those new cushions, but there will be restoration in the heart. I'm willing to make that trade.
I am a messy person. I am an utter mess. My life isn't all in order. I've got serious issues- mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually. I am doing everything possible to try to keep my exterior in order in hopes that nobody penetrates my thin candy coating to see the disarray within. As Casting Crowns puts it in one of their songs, I am continuing on with the "stained glass masquerade." It really sucks admitting to this, but what is the point of spiritual life if I can't be truly transparent?
Here's the thing, I'm in the process of change. Part of that process is taking seriously the passages in Scripture that tell us to confess our sins one to another and to seek to make amends with my brother when I have wronged him.
I am a messy person. I know you are too. And I'm not really sorry at all about blowing your cover. It's time that we all fess up to our shortcomings. Through the Twelve Steps of A.A. the men and women in recovery are instructed to realize their wrongs, confess them, and seek to make amends. These Twelve Steps are derived from steadfast Biblical principles. I have begun to see first hand the importance of theses men and women confessing their shortcomings one-on-one and in group settings. Why does it help? There are no secrets. No more shame, guilt, darkness, or skeletons. They are speaking in a safe environment with no fear of condemnation. They know that the person sitting next to them is as screwed up as they are.
The Bible tells us to confess verbally our sins... not only to God, but to others. We have grown to really love ignoring this fundamental principle and discipline of Christian life. We have come to have a mentality that suggests that I am okay not being the first to cast a stone, but I'll hold in ready in my hand just in case I get "found out." Brothers... Sisters... this can not be any longer! We are making a mockery of the word of God through this sin of exclusion!
I have come to realize through prayer, the exploration of the Scriptures, and the experience of life that I will not find a church that has everything all buttoned up and in order. When I find that I am convinced I will also find a body of people in straightforward denial. These people will be judgmental and fearful. They will be anxiety stricken and disobedient to God's word. They will be cold, calloused, and... worst of all, unloving. I would not want to be involved in that church. I do, however, pity them. My heart goes out to them because they need to experience the grace and mercy of our loving God in a way that will permit them to be vulnerable and let their mess show.
Every person in the Bible is messy. The heroes of our faith are adulterers, murderers, cheats, liars, drunks, bigots, and so on... There is only one who was not a mess, but he chose to get dirty. Jesus came to get his hands dirty. Ministry is filthy. A potter can not form clay without sticking his hands in and getting messy. In my experience, the clay has a tendency to be strewn about the whole of the potter. The potter gets muck all over him... and that's what makes it great! The potter becomes a part of the pot and the pot becomes a part of the potter. So it is with ministry.
Someone reading this right now is thinking, "Fat chance of that every happening in my church. I could never actually tell someone about my sins." Maybe you're thinking that you have too much at risk and that if anyone found out your shortcomings that it would ruin your career. I've dealt with this too. There are a ton of these fears that register in the mind. What finally convinced me to take the leap of confession was a simple question. Would I rather have false security in sin or have assurance of forgiveness in truth? Confession is a matter of obedience to God with real spiritual consequences. If we live our lives hiding behind the thin veneer of saying the "Christian" things and doing the "Christian" things and listening to "Christian" music and etc... we degrade our faith to a works-based salvation. But it is by grace that we are saved, through faith. We must trust God to work all things out for the good of those who love him and are called according to his purposes. Try believing God when he tells you it is good for you to confess your sins. I'm not promising there won't be pain, but I can assure you that God will provide the healing of the soul that comes with response to his will. And that is a beautiful thing.
Go ahead. Be yourself. Be messy. The way I am seeing things now is that I really wouldn't want it any other way. So watch out... there might be stains on the carpet and mud on those new cushions, but there will be restoration in the heart. I'm willing to make that trade.
posted by Gregg @ 1:16 PM
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