How The Imperfect Church Reveals The Perfect Christ

     Just reflecting on the fact that the church is an IMPERFECT representation of a PERFECT Christ in this world. Many people carry a mistaken view of this fact. Anything other than the above perspective causes us, by necessity, to maintain a harsh and impossible notion that our perfection through self-effort, personal behavior, and application of religious rigor in following rules and upholding laws is what gives us (or helps us maintain) favor with God and "sets us apart" from the rest of humanity. Paul said to the Colossians that this attitude "popularly passes for WISDOM." FAITH in the perfect and finished work of Christ allows for the ever evolving fruit of God's Spirit to flourish in our lives. Not being willing to admit the truth of our personal inability to be perfect flies in the face of such wonderfully assuring scriptures like Galatians 6:2,5 "Bear (endure, carry) one another's burdens and TROUBLESOME MORAL FAULTS, and in this way fulfill and observe perfectly the LAW OF CHRIST... for EVERY PERSON will have to bear (be equal to understanding and calmly receive) his OWN LITTLE LOAD OF OPRESSIVE FAULTS."
     Understanding our "perfection and holiness" in Christ that is given as an imparted gift (which is a grand reality), should never cause us to raise our expectations of ourselves and others beyond the boundaries that we all share as human beings. There are no options for God's favor other than what He gives freely by faith in Christ. Recognizing and accepting our insufficiency, frailty, neediness, and imperfection should not demean or condemn us, but rather, give us a sense of personal awareness that this condition is SHARED by all. Therefore, it gives us the power to release people from the impossible expectations of a religious perfection that only sets us up for failure, guilt, condemnation and fear of living openly and transparently among the family of God. As Peter said in Acts 15:10 to the Jewish believers in Jerusalem who wanted new converts to observe the law of Moses, "...why do you try to TEST God by putting a YOKE on the necks of the followers, such as neither our forefathers NOR WE OURSELVES were able to endure? But we believe that we are saved through the undeserved favor and mercy of the Lord Jesus, JUST AS WE ARE."
     By looking unto Jesus, we see clearly who we are, and receive all that we daily have need of by a simple gift of faith. In doing so, we find freedom from transgressions, sins, frailty, insufficiency, offenses and everything that would otherwise make us so merely human. Once we come to this awareness we can turn and freely offer the same mercy, love, forgiveness, forbearance and grace to others on this journey. And when we DO see people overtaken by a fault or sin, we can lovingly restore and reinstate them to the understanding of God's goodness and mercy. AND THAT is what separates us from the "world." Jesus said, "By THIS shall all men know that YOU are MY followers... that YOU HAVE LOVE ONE FOR ANOTHER."
     By looking to the Law and adhering to its standard, we can ONLY measure one another's sins. By choosing to love, forgive, be patient, forbearing and merciful... I can still be imperfect, yet by FAITH be reckoned by God as righteous. I can miss the mark, and still be holy before God by the same FAITH.  By grace, in spite of my lack, I can stand among those Jesus called "poor in spirit" and therein live to showcase the PERFECT law of Christ as a free man, who glories in all that God has conferred upon me, yet also as one who very humbly knows his own struggle with the flesh.