Christians and Their Mess

There once was a beer guzzling man with a gut to prove it. He was going bald. He was married with three kids. He loved them all, but failed regularly. He had a job. He went to church. He was pretty normal.

Once, he even spent time reading his Bible. This is what he had to say about the book: "All of these people are a mess...except this one guy."

Who said this?

Homer Simpson.

I'm not well versed in the Simpsons anymore.

My parents didn't allow my brothers and me the guilty pleasure of watching the show. 

Emulating Bart Simpson (better known as doing the "Bartman") would have gotten our mouths washed out with soap. So not watching was good, since I needed no inspiration on the improper use of the English language. By the time I was eight, I had ingested enough soap that I still fart bubbles when riding on a bumpy road. (Typing the word "fart" makes me taste fresh Dial.)

But Homer has a point.

Just like in the Bible, everyone is a mess except for Jesus. No one has all of their stuff together or everything figured out.

For so many years, I thought I did. But this is something the Holy Spirit has been weeding out of me.

While we all don't struggle with the same sins, we are all a mess. Just because your sin might not be as hurtful to someone else, doesn't mean that it isn't just as harmful to your relationship with Jesus.

Take a look at your mess.

It can be overwhelming. But when Jesus looks at it, he sees something entirely different.

He sees a beautiful mess.

One that he isn't afraid to get involved with even though he understands that it will take your lifetime to clean up. Salvation is not the issue here, but the act of sanctification (the process of making you holy). While your mess is daunting, you aren't alone in the clean up.

Every Christian has a mess to help clean up.

Question:
What is your mess?