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“God does not disappoint. He delivers.”
Sinners Saved by Grace
by Alexis Goring
We know who we are.
Or rather who we think we are.
Sometimes, challenging situations shed light on the dark parts of our hearts upon which God is still working so that we may become more like His Son. When that happens, we see who we really are. Often these situations reveal character traits we never knew we had.
You know how it is. You pride yourself in having tamed your tongue, but then someone cuts you off on the road during rush hour. Or you promised yourself that you would be patient, but then you discover that your toddler has been playing in the mud. Or you think you’re the calmest person at work, until you feel that a colleague has undermined your authority.
These are all real-life situations which cause real-life responses—responses which a “good Christian” would never exhibit, right?
Dr. Laurence J. Peter once declared, “Going to church doesn’t make you any more a Christian than going to the garage makes you a car.”*
When I first heard this quote I was rather offended. How dare he compare Christianity to something as secular as cars and garages? But then, as I grew older and started to listen to life, I could see why he would say that.
Let’s face it, we know how to “do church.” We leave our problems outside the church, just before we shake hands with the friendly greeters. Our aim is to convince our fellow church members that we’ve “got it all together,” whether we do or not. Then when we leave, we pick up our problems once again, carry them with us to the safety of our cars and on to home. Surely no one will ever know that we are miserable failures.
Hold that thought, however, to entertain this question, Do we truly “have it all together”?
We do not have to pretend that we are ideal Christians, when on the inside our hearts are breaking and our minds are racing. Our Creator desires that Christian fellowship helps us to strengthen our faith in Jesus who has promised to see us through life, every step of the way.
Not so long ago, a church member told me about a wayward family member, simply concluding, that “God gave up on him a long time ago.” I wish I would have said it then, but I will tell everyone in the world now—God doesn’t give up on anyone! Even the most difficult people to deal with, whether they’re Christians or not, are still children of God! Our desire should be to live a life that testifies to God’s grace, love, and mercy and to the Holy Spirit’s work in our lives. Yes, going to church may not make us a Christian anymore than going to a garage makes us a car, but the life we live should give the world a glimpse of our God.
An Adventist pastor once declared, “Church is a hospital for sinners.” We are all sinners. It doesn’t matter how perfect we look, speak, act, or how much time and money we give to charity. At the end of the day, we are all still sinners saved by the grace of God. He knows who you are, where you are from, and who you can be once you’ve accept His Son as your Savior. Most importantly, God’s got your back. He’s going to be with you through thick and thin. He never promised that living for Him would be easy. But He has promised to see us through our roles in human history (Deut. 31:6).
God does not disappoint. He delivers. God loves you more than you could ever imagine. Let the Holy Spirit work in you and through you. Allow God to sculpt you into a person of character, equipped to live for Him with perseverance, faith, hope, and love.
Then share that hope, love, and faith with the world, and trust God to do the rest.
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*Thinkexist.com. Dr. Laurence J. Peter Quotes, http://thinkexist.com/quotation/speak_when _you_are_angry-and_you-ll_make_the_best/214568.html (accessed July 23, 2010).