Clean Yourself Up First
On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I
have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” – Mark 2:17
“How many people are more worried about a kid wearing
a hat in the sanctuary than his heart?” It was an honest, if brutal, question
posed by our Youth Minister.
We like to get caught up in appearances, don’t we? We
are all about appropriate dress and appropriate behavior in church. Take those
crying babies to the nursery! Tell that man to take a bath! Make those kids
stop squirming! How dare someone sit on “my” pew! The music minister needs to
pick different songs! The pastor talks too long! Should I keep going?
Why do we attend Sunday morning worship services? Is
it to see who was there and to be seen by others? Or is it to truly worship God
Almighty?
Why do we act as though others should clean themselves
up to our standards before they enter our doors? If only “clean” people could
walk into the sanctuary, there would be no one there. When did we stop
realizing that?
We had a new person attend our Sunday school class
this week. Apparently, she’s been attending church for a while but would never
venture into a small group. Another class member has encouraged her and she
joined us. I don’t know her story. I don’t need to know. She is broken and
hurting inside. That’s obvious. She is going through the motions but barely
hanging on. I’m really glad she came.
Church isn’t about having it all together before you
walk in the building. It isn’t about knowing all the answers. It isn’t about
making light conversation. It isn’t really even about reading Bible verses. We
come together to worship God and love one another.
We spend a lot of time on prayer requests in my class.
Some people don’t like it and end up leaving. Others come to hear the names of
people they love lifted up. How do I know? They tell me. An awful situation
somehow gets filled with hope when people gather around and pray about it.
Church isn’t a social club, where you put on your best
behavior and pretend life is fine. At least, it shouldn’t be. Church should be
the one place above all others where everyone is welcome and accepted, loved
and cared about.
At one point in my life I attended church for a
totally selfish reason. Do you want to know what it was? The hugs that came
during fellowship time. It was the only time I was ever touched by another
human being and I craved that connection. No one knew. They were just good
people being Jesus. But I felt it and it led me into a deeper connection with
the One who makes me whole.
We forget sometimes that Jesus came for sinners, for
the outcasts, for the hurting, for the thief and the blind man. He came for all
those society had cast aside as unworthy. Why do we think it’s okay to cast
them aside too? Why do we judge and condemn rather than love and welcome?
We are all sinners. We all need Jesus. We are all
welcome at His throne.
No comments:
Post a Comment