As We Are

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”- Romans 3:23

Last night, I was speaking to an older gentleman in my neighborhood when a young man came up with his dog (The dogs name was Russell and he was a good boy) and he struck up conversation with us both. His name was Patrick and shortly into our conversation, Patrick started using some colorful language, and we continued in conversation, we didn’t bat an eye. Towards the end, I asked what we could be praying for him about, and it caught him off guard, but not in the way you would think. He didn’t immediately apologize for his use of those words, or change the way he acted, he continued to act: As he was. Why is that significant? Because he didn’t try to immediately be someone he was not to appease us, or to cater to us, he came as he was and we prayed over him and his dad who is well up in age and recovering from a heart attack. I say that as a reminder to all of us that we all have flaws, we all have said words we don’t mean, messed up and made mistakes, we are sinners, we all are, we all fall short. That’s where grace comes in, that’s where mercy comes in, that’s where redemption comes in, that’s where the love of Jesus comes in. So let us stop trying to be someone we are not, let us stop expecting lost people to act saved, let us put on compassion, love and the remembrance that we are all sinners, we have all fallen short, but the love of Jesus never asked us to meet certain criteria, or to look a certain way, He wants us today, tomorrow and forevermore: As we are. 

Embrace a conversation with someone today, a friend, a parent, a stranger, you never know what God could show you in that moment.