Some people are just not in to "church." Some are just not in to hanging with believers or going to church events. Some assume that these people struggle with the "small sins" and they can "never relate" to me or where I've been.
I think I wouldn't be too far out there if I said that most Sunday attenders won't connect through more than a handshake for fear of being "condemned." On one hand you don't want to be "fake", but on the other you might actually WANT what they have.
I am becoming more and more aware of the fact that we ALL have sinned and we ALL fall short. There is not one single person in the church that will go to heaven on behalf of what he has DONE. I am becoming more aware that the Devil really does try to destroy your ministry by telling you that everyone will think you are "fake", that you have a past that's too bad to change, or that if people knew a certain part of your life, they would lose all respect for you.
I'm in a women's Bible study at my church, and last night I was so BLESSED to get together with women who are more "mature" in age than I ;) but to see that EVERY woman in there, no matter where they are in their walk with the Lord, feels like there are areas that hold them captive, areas they fall short in, and a unifying urge to help each other conquer our weaknesses and to build each other up WITHOUT any condemnation.
My boyfriend is in the Men's Bible study called "Role of a Man" and different men share their testimony and where God has brought them from, and on Sunday, he pointed to a deacon of the church that shared and told me it was awesome to hear where he had come from to where he is now.
I'm continuously encouraged by LEADERS that have been where I'VE been and yet still are serving the kingdom in their NEW SELF.
More and more I am meeting people: leaders, elders, other christian women, that I think have it all together BUT then they tell me a little about where they came from... the addictions, the abuse, the abandonment, the mistrust, the alcohol, the drugs, the loss, the pain... and after meeting more and more of these people-- I could not believe how my perception of the church had changed!
This church is full of SINNERS! Wow. What better place for them... for US to be than united all together in a pursuit to love Christ because he gave His life for ours.... to WORSHIP a God that sees us as His CHILDREN, to lift up holy hands in adoration of who HE is in spite of who we are, to join together to build one another up and to catch one if they fall, to put on our NEW self... I think it is such a testimony of how the Holy Spirit covers our sin and separates us far from our past when we see someone we think "has it all together" and be utterly SHOCKED by the story of their past.
I've learned that people don't lift up their hands because they want to seem "holy"... they lift them up in surrender. They cry to let the pain out and let healing in. I think that when you have repented and been forgiven you shouldn't even hesitate to give Him all the praise. Sometimes we forget our OWN past. We forget that we fall short and that we deserve death... we forget that EVERYONE is offered the GIFT of eternal life and that EVERYONE in church IS like YOU... Everyone needs a Savior and the body of believers found sitting on the pews each Sunday KNOWS that they have sinned and that's EXACTLY why they are there!
They aren't there because they're perfect...they come to be forgiven! They aren't doing it to look "holy"... they come out of obedience! They don't come to judge the broken...they ARE broken, have been broken or will be broken and need restoration and joy! They don't come because they should..they come because their heart craves the Lord and to be filled with His word and missing out on meeting God makes you empty. They don't come to be a better person...they come because there's a God that loves them in spite of who they are. They don't come to appear strong... they come because God offers to carry their burden if they lay it at the cross.
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