Flawed Christian

I am a follower of Christ. I call myself a Christian. I am saved by the grace of Jesus Christ. Each day I fail Him but He shows me mercy and grace and loves me anyway. I am much more a sinner than I ever dared believed yet far more loved than I ever dared hope. I am a flawed Christian. I live in a broken world that is so deeply loved by Christ. In that truth I find hope.

There are days when my thoughts and actions and spoken words are far from Christ-like. Those are sad days for me - but much sadder, I am certain, for my Father in Heaven. When I claim to be a Christ-follower and a Christian and my actions and words don't reflect that, it hurts His whole body and the job we're called to do in His Name. Christ knows His followers all to well. The world? This lost and broken world? Not so much.

Those that do not yet know Him aren't so understanding. They don't see that the reason we attend church is to gather in all of our flaws and darkest places of our hearts to ask His forgiveness and to renew our strength in Him. They don't know that we see ourselves as broken and in need of our Savior. They don't witness our fellowship and acts of worship in His Name. They. Don't. Know Him. That's our calling. We are called to point to Him ALWAYS. Our mission is to look Upward and Outward.

I look Upward. In Christ I find hope. In Christ I find acceptance. In Christ I find mercy and grace. In Christ I find peace and rest. In Christ I find joy and my identity. He will never let me down and He'll never let me go.

I look Outward. I look for ways to show others the hope that is in Christ. I look for opportunities to accept others for who they are - not for what they have or have not done. I search my past for those for whom I'm harboring a hurt and ask Him to show me ways to offer them mercy and strength to show them grace. I open my eyes to those who are feeling lonely and lost and hurt and seek to bring them tiny bits of joy through my actions, my words, and my prayers. I pray for the words to tell them that in Christ they can become His new creation. With each breath I will seek to bring Him glory!

Am I flawed? Most certainly! Does God still use me? You betcha! I don't need to be perfect. I just need to have God! 2 Corinthians 12:9 But He said to me, "my grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.