No Perfect People Allowed

Have you ever walked into a church, or another environment full of Christians and thought, “Wow I don’t fit in here”, or “These people have it all together and my life is just a mess?” If you have, I assure you that you are not alone. Many people feel this way every day. The truth is, having a relationship with God and inviting Jesus into your heart is even more critical for those of us who are broken or struggling (which is all of us at some point or another). Many people in society today have this illusion that the church is a place where everyone has it together and no one is going through trials and challenges. This illusion couldn’t be further from the truth. Many of us will come across hypocritical Christians who like to pretend everything is perfect. Social media feeds are flooded with “highlight reels” of other people's lives but if we are honest, we are often too prideful to share our struggles, depression, or weakness. I believe the Church should be a place where no perfect people are allowed. Quite frankly, if you believe that your life is perfect, or that you’ve got it all together, I’m afraid you’ve been deceived. We are ALL broken and in need of a Lord and Savior. Accepting Jesus into our hearts doesn’t make life easier, and it doesn’t make things perfect. Inviting Jesus into our hearts does mean that we no longer have to struggle alone. I’m so thankful that we have a Savior who was tempted like we are tempted and faced trials like the trials we face. The fact that we are not alone is a simple and stunningly beautiful truth that we must cling to.

Jesus invites all the poor and powerless and all the lost and lonely into a relationship with Him. Amazing doors will begin to open up when we push our pride aside and admit that He alone is our portion. Next time you are feeling like the odd person out or that you’re struggling alone, remember that our imperfections are what make us beautiful and we are all imperfect. We are all children of the most high God and he wants to take us as we are. Nothing more and Nothing less. I used to think that I needed to have my life perfectly together and tied in a nice bow before I could come to Jesus and develop my relationship with Him. Then I realized if I wait for that time to come, my whole life would slip by and I could have never gotten to know how amazing my relationship with Jesus could be. Never forget that you are all fearfully and wonderfully made in the eyes of the Lord. No one should feel left out, no one should feel ashamed, and no one should make the mistake of thinking they are not good enough to be wrapped in the arms of The Savior. Jesus died on the cross so that we could bring all of our imperfections to God and he could make us whole. What would it look like if we were willing to come "just as we are", Imperfections and all, the way Jesus loves and accepts us? What a beautiful world that would be. No perfect people allowed.