Offended Offender

This is probably one of those things I should never write out loud, but here's to living on the edge.

As a Christian, it's easy to get offended by this world. There are tasteless magazines on display in every shopping center in town; there are near-pornographic commercials and shows on PrimeTime TV; vulgur and inappropriate words are carelessly aimed at children in restaurants and other public places.

Unfortunately though, being a Christian doesn't exclude us from also being the offender. Just because I'm a Christian doesn't mean I'm perfect, or that I should ever have the audacity to think that I am. It simply means that I have Christ's loving protection before the wrath of a Holy God against the sin He cannot tolerate. The point of becoming a Christian should be because of our need for Christ's shed blood in order to be able to come into the presence of a perfect and holy God; perfection is a goal Christians should strive for only in the context of becoming like Christ, and not in the context of comparison to others.

I know too many people who have shunned a relationship with God because they have been burned, at one point in time or another, by a Christian (or even many of them). Because of this, they have felt justified - even obligated - to hang out a sign to the world that airs the dirty laundry of the hypocritical Christian. Well, sister/brother/friend, you're exactly right...Christians ARE hypocrites at times. Christians say dirty words sometimes. Christians smoke, drink, do drugs, and have promiscuous relationships sometimes. Christians are by no means perfect yet. Quite simply, sometimes Christians do not appear any different by a worldly standard than non-Christians (although Jesus calls us to a higher standard we should always be striving for).

Christ did not come into this world so that we could be perfect in the temporary things. He did not come into this world so that Christians could appear perfect and blameless to everybody else in the world. He was the perfect and blameless one of this world. And in an act of perfect love for this world, he came to wash our hearts white as snow for eternity's sake. In this world, we will surely fail. Before our God, we cannot because of Christ.

Sister/Brother/Friend, the fact that I fail you at times is evidence of my need for Christ's loving redemption in my heart. Though I proclaim his goodness in one moment, I know that I also carelessly speak at other moments. You are right to judge me as a hypocrite, if you are viewing me through the lens of this world. However, I can only hope that my transparency will allow you to see that I am clinging to Christ with all that I have. For every time that I fail, Jesus Christ provides grace through his perfect love and gives me strength to continue to walk in step with Him. He can never fail you, for he is perfect and he loves you perfectly. Even when you cannot trust me, trust Him. He loves you more than you will ever be able to fathom, and He is calling you out of darkness and death and into the freedom of that love!