On Wednesday I told you about Frankie – today, let me tell you about John. I was coming out of the church office into the very cold day, heading for another important meeting, when I heard a voice ask, “Are you the pastor of this church?” I turned around and said yes; for a moment, I regretted answering. Standing on the sidewalk was a skinny young man in a long trench coat. He was wearing a baseball cap with a cross on it and sporting a beard that would make the members of ZZ Top jealous. He was randomly attired and had the look I’ve become accustomed to; the look of someone living on the streets. We introduced ourselves and the first thing he told me was that he lived at the Hope Rescue Mission a few blocks from the church and that he was a Christian. Before I could speak – he was one of those people who never seems to take a breath – he said, “I have a lot of questions about Jesus.” “Join the club”, I replied as I shivered. Did I say it was cold?
John went from church to church trying to find a “real” church that followed the teachings of Jesus completely. I wished him good luck with that fool’s errand; no person or faith community that I know of can do that all the time. That’s why grace exists. He told me that he had gotten into a lot of arguments with pastors; he’d even been kicked out of one and told to never come back. The reason? A woman stood up to prophesy, and John got up and told her that she wasn’t allowed to do that! Shocked, I said, “Well, that was rude.” To which he agreed; he said that he then read in the Bible that all of God’s children will dream dreams and prophesy. “Why” he asked “does the Bible contradict itself so often. It shouldn’t do that!” I told him that his discovery of this put him way ahead of most Christians. The Bible isn’t a perfect collection of books, but it is inspired by God and useful for teaching, reproof, correction, and training (at least, according to 2 Timothy 3).
John then told be about his life and all the mistakes he had made. He told me about the people he had hurt, the addiction he had struggled with, and the state of lostness he found himself in today. I asked him if he had forgiven himself and taken steps to make amends and find healing; he hesitated and said that he believes that God has forgiven him, but he wasn’t sure what to do with the rest of it. He then asked me what time church was; I told him and invited him to come and worship. I told him the kind of church we are, just so he would be prepared. That, oddly, didn’t seem to trouble him. If God could love him, he guessed, then God could love anyone. Okay, not quite the point, but it’s a start.
John is struggling, like most of us, to reconcile his mistakes and misfortunes with his concern about being good and doing what is right. He feels trapped between who he is and the perfect person he believes he should be. As I stood there trying to control my chattering teeth (I did say it was cold, right?), I told him that God knows how flawed we are because God made us that way. Our job is to do everything we can to choose well, and God’s grace will take care of the rest. John is an addict trying to recover; he is also a child of God. John has made some terrible decisions that have cost him relationships; he is also a child of God. I hope he comes to church and finds something meaningful there. And if he stands up and tells me I am wrong, I will laugh and say yes, more often than I like to be. God’s grace is there for me too. For each one of us. We are all flawed, and we all mess up; we are also all children of God.
Prayer – Holy God, thank You for making us each in Your image and also unique to ourselves. Give us guidance to choose well; forgive us when we don’t. Help us to make amends and find healing. Amen.