“For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” - Romans 3:23
I wiped away tears and pep talked myself the whole way to the restaurant. “Get it together. Don’t show your cards. You don’t want to share too much because she might judge you.” After a particularly rough day, I was headed to meet with a new friend from church and I didn’t want to let her in on my mess. I felt like I needed a mask, some sort of perfection cloak that I could throw over my broken self to hide my breaking heart and lacking faith. I felt like I had failed to be the perfect Christian I was trying to be and needed to fake it in front of her.
However, at dinner that night with my friend, my fear was put to rest. I was reminded that my past, shortcomings, and imperfections don’t discount me from being able to be a part of God’s kingdom. As I poured out what I’d hoped to keep bottled up, she listened with kindness and encouraged me in my doubt. While I was so anxious entering that conversation, I left feeling refreshed with loving acceptance and reinvigorated with hope.
Do you also put pressure on yourself to be and be seen as perfect and use the reasoning that it’s because God NEEDS you to be faultless to be effective witnesses for His kingdom? While God does call us to live a life that is worthy of the calling we’ve received (Ephesians 4:1), He also showed us imperfect people throughout the Bible that were still able to make an impact; Moses, Peter, and Paul are a few that come to mind.
Maybe it’s because I’m overly transparent, but I think some of the greatest relationships and connections I’ve experienced have had an authentic trust that can only come from admissions of weakness. Those vulnerable moments when we put trust in our people to help us throw off our shame, carry our burdens and lift us up. Taking it even further, I think we as the body of Christ should be the first people we turn to in our brokenness, not just our closest friends or family members. We should feel comfortable having those moments with our brothers and sisters in faith because we share a common thread; the unconditional and graceful love of Jesus!
Unfortunately, there are times where we won’t glorify God with our actions or words. However, God can make anything beautiful and I believe He can use our imperfections to build strong connections and relationships that still bring Him glory!
Weekly Challenge: Let’s be the accepting, listening ears for our Christian brothers and sisters and vow to trust each other enough to open our own hearts.