While living overseas, we were blessed to be able to buy a 16-year-old house back home in Texas that had a few problems. We hired a property management company to care for our house and put it up for rent. They sent us a list of problems that needed fixed before they could rent it out. Did we tear down the house and build a new one to fix those problems? No, that would be ridiculous! The house was much more valuable to us than the cost of those minor repairs. We gave the company permission to take care of it and they did. Yes, it cost us, but the rent we collected soon covered those expenses. During the eight years the house was rented out we had to pay for more repairs to protect the value of our property, but it was worth it in the end.
When we retired, we decided to make the house our home. We hadn’t seen the house because it was always occupied when we came back to Texas on vacation. We soon discovered the now 23-year-old house would need a lot of work, in addition to the changes we wanted. It would cost us more than half the price we originally paid for the house! Spending that much money boggled our minds! So, did we demolish the house and start again? No, that would be ridiculous! It was a good house, in a great location, and once the work was completed, it could potentially meet our needs for the rest of our lives. Another blessing was the rent we collected for 8 years was more than enough to pay the costs.
That is something like the Police Departments across our country. We have some problems because the policemen come from the same imperfect population they serve. So, should we scrap the whole system because we have some bad officers? No, that would be ridiculous! We need to hold bad officers accountable and give the good ones the funding and support they need. Our law enforcement officers aren’t perfect, but they are some of the best trained, best equipped, and most professional in the world. That is why it’s worth fixing the problems rather than trashing the whole system. If you take the political spin out of equation, you will discover our policemen aren’t the underlying problem, but part of the solution.
That logic follows when you look at your relationship with GOD. Just because you see imperfect Christians, it doesn’t mean you should give up on GOD. In fact, we need GOD because we are all imperfect. When religious leaders questioned JESUS eating with sinners, He told them, “They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick” (Mat 9:12 KJV). That means the Church isn’t a collection of perfect people, but people who turn to GOD to become perfect! “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Rom 3:23 KJV) but “God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16 KJV).
Good thing the Church is made up of imperfect people because you will fit right in! After you accept JESUS as your personal Savior and become “a new creature” (2 Cor 5:17) even with all your imperfections, you will be in a perfect place to show others the grace (unmerited favor) GOD has shown to you!
Wayne Lance (2022) – That’s Good News to Share!