Grace? Oh Yeah, I Used to Know Her.

Most people know I used to be a youth pastor, and now I work as a sound guy for some youth and youth worker conventions. It's really rare that I find one (especially one specifically for youth) that I would have ever dared exposed my youth groups to. It mostly has to do with all the guilt that is projected from the stage to the kids.

I'm working at one such conferance right now. So far I've heard that most people (esp. Kids) don't have the correct picture of Jesus, and if you don't have the correct picture of Jesus you probably aren't really a Christian. I've heard that as a Christian you need to pay close attention to your sins so that you stop offending God.

The hard thing is, is that I don't necessarily disagree with these things in concept, but when it is the most emphasized point on stage all I hear is "You all might think you are Christians, but you actually might not be." And "You kids ought to be ashamed of all the sin you commit, you should really get a handle on that before you go around telling other people that you're a Christian."

My problem lies with the fact that most people already know their struggles pretty well. They already feel like they aren't Christian enough, or not perfect enough to really be able to count. All these feelings of unaduquicy combined with the desire to fit in, cause us to hide who we really are in the presence of other Christians. We become fake and impersonal.

Why is it that we've declared ourselves as the moral guardians rather than the chief sinners? It's easier to act than to be real. Acting can transform us into anyone we want to be... as long as we are believable actors. But if we can never be our true selves, complete with struggles and weakness, we can never be truly known by others, and we deprive ourselves from intimatcy, accountability, and friendship.

The other problem is that most people aren't good actors. In this situation, the rest of us know whose putting on an act. We might not know exactly what you're hiding but we know you are not truly yourself. Usually the only person you really fool is yourself, and in similar fashion deprive yourself from committed relationships.

What people need to hear is that Jesus knows all the secret things you try to hide from everyone else and he accepts you. Even more, he loves you. And what we must do in response to this grace is allow that same grace to extend through us towards others. It is God's kindness that leads us to repentance. It's God who draws is all, as we are, to himself. If we are not condemned, how can we then turn to condemn?

May those who do not know the Lord see him through our love and kindness. May we always work harder on our own imperfections rather than others'. May we find his grace so abundantly in our own lives that we feel comfortable enough to be our true selves. And may we joyfully celebrate each other in the light of that grace we have been so freely given.