• Home
  • About This Blog
  • Contact Me
  • Subscribe
  • Comment Policy

Attempts at Honesty

Reflections on the interplay of the Bible and Culture

  • Westminster Shorter Catechism Series
  • Sermon on the Mount Series
Home Bible Reflection Welcome to the club

Welcome to the club

Posted on November 8, 2021 Written by Mark McIntyre Leave a Comment


“Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Mark 2:17 (ESV)

If there is one thing that should distinguish the Christian church, it should be an open admission of our need for a Savior. We are the people that know that we are sick and in need of healing.

Therefore, the church is the one place where it should be acceptable to admit that you don’t live up to your own standard. The church should be the one place where we openly acknowledge that we don’t have everything together. The church is the one place where we should be able to admit that we don’t measure up.

Our shortcomings are painfully obvious to everyone around us, so there is really no downside to making the admission.

Yet, so much of my church life has been one of inherent dishonesty both on my part and the part of those around me.

To corroborate this, just ask yourself what you normally say or hear when the question “how are you?” is asked.

The standard answer is “great” or “fine” or the very spiritual-sounding answer, “I’m doing better than I deserve” or even, “great by the grace of God.”

There is nothing wrong with these responses if that is really the case. But on an average Sunday, I suspect that not everyone in the congregation is doing “fine” or “great.” Some just had an argument with their spouse on the way to church. Some just yelled at their kids for one reason or another. Some have had trouble at work. Some have had difficulty with aging parents. Some have trauma from difficult parents. The list of problematic things in a fallen world is endless.

I’m not saying that we need to tell everyone every problem we’ve had (they have enough of their own), but we do need to be honest that sometimes life gets us down and we need people around us to pick us up.

Also, we need to be honest that we don’t respond well in every difficult situation. We mess up. We hurt people. We say the wrong thing. The list of ways we fail is also endless.

But we need to be people who, like Jesus, are full of grace and truth. We need to give and receive grace for failures while being honest about them.

So, if you are a sinner, welcome to the club. If you feel that you fail more than succeed, welcome to the club. If you know that you don’t have your act together, welcome to the club.

Jesus accepts you and so should we.

If you are encouraged by this post or would like to make a comment, please use the comment form below to offer your feedback. If you are reading this in an email and would like to comment, you can reply to the email or click on the “Read in browser” link below to go to the web page where you can enter a comment. I enjoy hearing from you.


Filed Under: Bible Reflection

About Mark McIntyre

A follower of Jesus Christ who shares observations about how Scripture should impact the church and the world. Mark is the original author and editor of Attempts at Honesty.

Follow Attempts at Honesty

Honesty in your Inbox

Four Lessons From the Resurrection

The four lessons It is Easter Sunday 2011, the day which commemorates the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ. I insert the adjective “bodily” to distinguish myself from those who would understand the resurrection story to be nothing more than a metaphor for renewal and hope. In 1 Corinthians 15:14, the Apostle Paul tells us that […]

Stripping away the illusion

There is something in men and women that desires control over our circumstances. We don’t want to be manipulated, we want freedom to forge our own destiny. Christians understand that this desire can be traced all the way back to the Garden of Eden where Adam and Eve made a conscious choice to rebel. In […]

Send button

Before you hit send . . .

While the angry, “I guess I showed them” type of response may be gratifying in the moment, it doesn’t help in the long run. Such a response brings division which grieves the Lord who died to bring unity.

Blessed

The reason we are blessed

I want to be blessed because it makes my life easier or more comfortable. That is how I often assess if I am being blessed. If I am uncomfortable or something is going on in my life which is difficult, I feel like the blessing switch has been turned off.

Grounded

Leaders – How well are you getting people grounded in the faith?

Leaders need to periodically gauge how well they are doing with regard to equipping their people. If you find that improvement can be made, try something new. Use one of the ideas above or listen to the ideas of your people. There is no one-size-fits-all solution.

Post Series

  • Westminster Shorter Catechism Series
  • Sermon on the Mount Series
February 2023
SMTWTFS
 1234
567891011
12131415161718
19202122232425
262728 
« Jan    

Categories

Archives

Blogger Grid
Follow me on Blogarama

Copyright © 2023 · Focus Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in