The Chief among Sinners.

I just have to tell you about this friend I Scrabble with. You can tell he is very in love with his wife and kids by the little comments he says about them. So... nice guy, right? And for some reason 90% of what he says makes me laugh so hard that no sound actually comes out of me... my shoulders just shake and tears come out of my eyes! He destroyed me again in a game last night. I keep telling people I used to be really good and I was! I was I tell ya! I had a score in the upper 1400's which is respectable... but I started playing people who's score were all in the 1500's through the high 1700's!!! I don't like those people! All that to say, my Scrabble confidence is waning.

So me and this fella were talking after a game last night... somehow a bunny trail about smiley faces got us to the homosexual issue... HA!!! I have a biblical view on that issue, which includes loving the sinner and hating the sin, and that I am just a sinner too. We discussed a few things and he shared that he was an Atheist. He couldn't have been more generous and is always kind and encouraging. He said I could have the last word and I only came up with UM. He said to do better so I said, "Good night man who will believe." So say a prayer for my buddy so I don't come up a liar :)

Scrabble doesn't have a way to have a rematch with someone without adding them to your friends list, so I add a lot of strangers... (skeery.) I always check out all their info as soon as I add them. The funny thing is, so many say "Christian" or whatever under religion, but if you scan down a bit, they have also joined the "Drug and sexual addicts who like to kill cats for the 4th of July" club. For so many, it's just a title. I have known many Christians who don't seem happy at all compared to my Atheist friend. And I have met Atheist's who look like they would give their left arm for a sliver of hope! The only reason I share this story is just that people are so interesting!

I have made this point several times in my blog... "WE ARE ALL THE SAME!" My homosexual friends, my Atheist friends, my African friends, my Christian friends... the common thread is we are all born with a sinful nature and only One thing can save us from the consequences of that sin. A Christian comedian used to say, going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more then going to McDonald's makes you a hamburger. I think when we Christians start getting to know people for who they are, and loving them on the same level we want to be loved on, people will start falling in love with Jesus. We always feel we have to appear perfect so as to represent Him well... but appearing perfect isn't the goal... being perfect is. What is perfection? Look at Jesus. It's to love the lost! It's for us to admit the only reason we're saved is that we needed a Savior.

I used to be a lot more uptight cause I thought that's what I was supposed to be. But I have learned to keep it real (as they teach in our church strongtowerbiblechurch.com). I'm seeing that God is bringing people to me... even though He knows my failings, of which there are too many to count... He still brings em. I guess what I do when they get there is up to me. I wanna do what Jesus did. I wanna love em. What about you?