Recently I heard someone say that “the church should not be a museum for saints, but instead a hospital for sinners.” That really got me thinking about how true that statement really is.
So many times our churches are a place where people go to pretend they have it all together, instead of a place where we can be honest with each other, that we’re not as sanctified as we portray ourselves to be.
What if the church was a place where we could freely admit our struggles and our weaknesses? What if the church was a place where we didn’t have to wear a mask and pretend to be someone on the outside that we’re really not?
What would it be like to go to a church where we didn’t have to have it all together, but could admit that we need help? That we need freedom and deliverance. What if we put down our titles and positions, and started loving people.
What if we weren’t afraid of getting our hand dirty, because people’s lives are messy.
My wife Gloria and I used to attend church at a place that had thousands of people walk through the doors of the church every week. Every weekend we would see people walking in with their Sunday best, smiling and pretending everything is alright.
Forgetting the fact that the whole way to church they were fighting with their spouse, had got drunk the night before, or possibly something even worse. What I know is if you have ears to hear and eyes to see, you can tell that people are suffering in silence all around us.
They want to say something, but the thought of being rejected by God or His people is too much to bear, so they hold the pain down deep inside. Afraid to be honest. Afraid to tell the truth, because “what might people think about me if they really knew what I was still struggling with?”
I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of pretending. I’m tired of trying to pretend to be someone I’m really not. The church is full of hypocrites, and they don’t need any more. What the world is looking for is someone who is real. Not someone who pretends to have it all together, but someone who still has doubts and questions. Someone who still struggles with sin and unbelief.
After all it’s not that we needed a savior, it’s that we need a savior.
We not only needed someone to save us from who we were, but we need a Savior who is ever present, and always working in and through our lives to sanctify us into who He created us to be. I may not be the person that I want to be, but I’m not the person I used to be.
Don’t suffer in silence any longer. It’s okay to be real. It’s okay to have doubts, questions, fears and worries. Just don’t keep them to yourself. If you need someone to talk to who won’t judge you, please know we’re here for you. Yes YOU!
Be Blessed,
Chris Chandler