Recently I was reading one of the stories of heroines in The Bible and was reminded that the heroes and heroines were not all one would expect them to be especially because they are representatives of a holy and righteous God who judges sin and demands the best of His people.
Of course He is known as the God of mercy and grace as well. But we tend to call them Saints and focus on their virtue and heroic acts. The surprising story I read was about one of the matriarchs or mothers of the faith. Her name was Rachel and she was specially chosen to be most suitable as the mother of all Israel and married Jacob, whose name God changed to Israel, which means one who wrestles with God.
The surprising episode was that after a deal to work for seven years to pay the dowry so Jacob could marry his true love, Rachel they ran away from his conniving father in law Laban (who was holding them hostage) and Rachel stole Laban’s household gods and then lied about doing so and justified her theft. This stealing of the gods was a serious matter since the gods were thought to bring fortune and protection. At best this made Rachel a liar and a thief and at worst an idolater.
That hardly seems fitting characteristics of a heroine. But as we think of other heroes we see, they too, for the most part, had major flaws and yet God used them to accomplish his purposes. David, the great king who rose from a simple shepherd boy, slew the tyrannical giant Goliath and brought in the golden age of prosperity and power for Israel, also was covetous, lustful, a thief and a murderer. Yet the Bible tells of his change of heart at times and that he was a friend of God. He was chosen to write Psalms, perhaps the most beautiful collection of praise songs to God in the world. They are edifying and their imagery and focus draw many to a closer relationship and deeper understanding of the ways of God. This theme of God using imperfect people carries on in the New Testament as well. Paul, the apostle, was part of the mob that killed Stephen and he led those most zealous to see Christians persecuted and jailed and yet he became the main writer of the letters that make up the New Testament.
Paul openly admitted he saw himself as the chief of sinners and observed that everyone has sinned and falls short of the glory of God that they are commanded to imitate.
Our only hope to escape God’s judgement is to claim the forgiveness that Jesus bought by his death on the cross, which paid the price to wash away our sin.
I remember reading on a bumper sticker something that reflects this truth: “Christians aren’t perfect, just forgiven.”
That is the only reason any good we do can be received by God as a worthy and acceptable gift.
His grace is our salvation which allows us, in spite of our weakness, to still be worthwhile and acceptable to life in Christ.
Our sin or sins, no matter how serious, cannot keep us from being redeemed by the intercession of Jesus. Yes, the church is full of imperfect people; we should expect nothing other than that, but they are a people who keep Jesus’ grace and so have no reason to judge others who, like them, are imperfect but strive, by grace, to serve God with all their heart, soul and mind.
At times we can feel unacceptable and too unworthy to be in relationship with God, but if so take time to reflect on the “saints of old” and take heart by remembering that God’s grace is greater than your sin.