We often visualize ministry where Christians live the talk and do as Jesus would. But the reality is, Christians are frail, weak, and fickle, and God still uses them.
Eugene Peterson says it extremely well:
“The church is made up of sinners. The fleas come with the dog. We expect a disciplined army of committed men and women who courageously lay siege to the worldly powers. Instead we find some people who are more concerned with getting rid of the crabgrass in their lawns. We expect a community of saints who are mature in the virtues of love and mercy, and find ourselves working on a church supper where there is more gossip than there are casseroles.
We expect to meet the minds that are informed and shaped by the great truths and rhythms of Scripture, and find person who intellectual energy is barely sufficient to get them from the comics to the sports page…Faith in Christ does not in itself make a person an interesting conversationalist or stimulating companion. Sometimes you just have to endure tedious relationships with unimaginative pilgrims.”
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I’m not sure how to respond to such a sobering picture of God’s people.
