I’m not perfect, just forgiven

I’m sure I’m not the best Christian example. I’m happy to preach the Words of Jesus, but I still continue to sin. And if a Christian is supposed to be “Christlike”, then that must make me a poor Christian. As the world would say, I must be a hypocrite. Am I really? Or rather, doesn’t it make me a poor example of perfection? We use the word Christian in such a general way, but it really means “Little Christ” or, as most of us would say, “Christlike”. I don’t see myself anywhere near Christlike because I am so far from perfection, but I am very near to Christ. I prefer to call myself saved, or a believer. It’s everybody else who calls me Christian. And if that were the case, then I would be a hypocrite and not very likely to lead anyone to that person I claim to be like. As I said, I am a believer, and though I don’t remember when I first believed, God has been changing me for years into the image of His son…into something perfect…perfectly forgiven that is. But change is a long process. I haven’t seen the end of the road yet. My God is a gentleman who never pushes and for that I’m thankful. While I’m sure that there are some who seem to have no problem with making changes overnight, most of us are just not willing. But God continues to forgive and continues to patiently work on our issues one at a time. Of course, if we had to wait until all of our issues were perfected before we ever came to God, we would never make it. We can’t do it on our own. It has to be with the help of His Spirit. He says to come as we are. With myself, I’ve noticed that He might work on one while delaying on another (unfortunately, with continued consequences) until a later date when I’m ready to see it from His point of view. But what breaks my heart is when someone I care about fails to come to Jesus because they think that they have to be perfect first. And what’s worse is when I feel that I’m responsible for their unbelief simply because I’m still a sinner. Still a sinner…I will always still be a sinner. But I don’t advocate my sins. The difference between a Christian and non-Christian is not that one is good and the other is not. It’s that a Christian admits it and turns their eyes to the only One who is good. Unfortunately, the Christian is still judged by the world because of what he says he is and who he says he believes in. Don’t expect me to fit in a mold. God expects me to walk a path…one that He too has walked…one where he can bring me back to when I wander off...one where He can help me back up onto when I stumble and fall. So why be judgmental of me or anyone else who wishes to share the Good News of God’s forgiveness simply because we don’t present perfection? If you look past my imperfection, you’ll see the hope that I have in spite of it. Maybe you’d like to have that hope too.

Written by Amie Spruiell

April 2007