imperfect church

 I saw a post the other day that repeated something I've seen a lot. Basically, it was along the lines of, "I don't go to church because the people there are hypocrites." So many people use the excuse that the pews are filled with imperfect people as the reason they don't gather together on Sunday morning. They talk about people who share verses and say they are praying for people but then mess up in some way, and somehow the fact that those people are at church is used as the reason they don't go themselves.

I go to church with a bunch of imperfect people.  They mess up--most of them daily in some way, if I'm being honest. They get cranky and have days when they are just plain grumpy. They skip the Sunday morning service sometimes. They get mad. They say things they shouldn't. They get impatient. They make mistakes, and sometimes they even make conscious choices to do something they shouldn't.

I'm incredibly thankful for that, because it means they understand when I do the exact same thing. They can help me figure out how to do better because they've been through it.

Because those same imperfect people? They are loving. They are generous.  They are people who have been through unimaginably hard times and came out on the other side more reliant on God. They search the Scriptures for answers to the hard questions. They reach out to the broken and the hurting because they know what it is like to be in those dark places. They apologize when they are wrong and they ask forgiveness when they mess up. In their weaknesses, they point others to the strength of God. All the broken places in their lives let God's light shine out.

 

As a cracked pot myself, I'm so thankful that I didn't find a perfect church full of perfect people--because I would have messed that up the moment I walked through the doors.