I was a good Catholic girl.
I attended church every Sunday.
I sang the lyrics to “Amazing Grace” (without reading from the misslette, I might add.)
I committed the “Our Father” to memory.
I recited the correct responses during mass.
I even received several sacraments.
But here’s something you should know: there have been times in my life–some very recently–where I’ve been a terrible Christian.
Now we are all flawed, and I know this statement needs a little further explanation, so sit tight, sunshine.
We know that the Christian faith is not about a “to do” list to earn or pay your way into heaven; rather it’s about a miraculous “it’s-already-been-done-gift”–Jesus.
But recently when listening to this popular “church” song, I started really thinking about the words.
O come, all ye faithful
Joyful and triumphant
O come ye, o come ye to Bethlehem
Come and behold Him
Born the King of Angels!
O come, let us adore Him
O come, let us adore Him
O come, let us adore Him
Christ the Lord
This is where the “I’ve been a terrible Christian” remark comes in…
I haven’t always been faithful.
I haven’t always been joyful.
I haven’t always been triumphant.
In fact, sunshine, there have been far too many times that my faith has wavered.
I’ve been downright miserable.
And to be honest, I’ve felt utterly defeated.
And guess what, sunshine?
That is exactly why Jesus came.
And this is exactly why He died.
His entire life–from birth to death–was for the faithless, for the depressed, for the defeated.
He lived and died for me.
And you.
But God’s Word reminds us that even the smallest portion of faith is all that we need.
“You don’t have enough faith,” Jesus told them.
“I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed,
you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’
and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.”
Matt 17:20 NLT
Faith.
Not weekly offerings.
Not memorized hymns.
Not perfect church attendance.
While each of these may be byproducts of our growing relationship with and desire to serve God, faith is where it begins.
Faith is how our relationship deepens.
Faith is where our journey culminates.
Feeling faithless today, sunshine?
That’s ok–that’s why He came.
It is with our belief that a little baby born in a manger 2000+ years ago carried the weight of all of our wrongdoing–past, present, and future–and with this belief, miracles can happen. Oh, come let us adore Him.
(*The image above and this blog have been inspired by my church, Discover Life, here in Melbourne.) |
