Okay, okay. I said don't get used to 3 posts a day. But sue me. I'm getting used to the novelty of this and those who know me the most know that I always have a ton to say, even if they don't want to hear it!!

By the way. . . disregard the times these are posted. It's coming in as 3 hours before. It's really almost midnight here.

Anyway, I just wanted to talk about something I had heard this week, from a friend. They were writing that they sometimes felt like they didn't have the same type of relationship with God that others had. That sometimes others looked down on them, maybe for things in the past and maybe for other reasons. . . maybe they just weren't as bubbly and fake and shove-love-down-your-throat as other Christians can be, lol.

Of course, I was quick to bat off the comment. But it stuck with me. Because sometimes perceptions can be wrong.

I won't lie: on the outside, I'm a pretty decent person. I don't drink or smoke or chew and I don't run with those who do, as the old rhyme goes. And sometimes it can get to the point where I personally look at someone who doesn't express their relationship with God the same way as I do or who may have some struggles in different areas than I do. And I'd be lying if I said there weren't instances when prejudices flared up and I wanted to put myself back up on a higher holy pedestal than them.

And yet. . . I would be the biggest hypocrite in the world to do that. Derek Webb wrote a lyric that went

"My life looks good, I do confess/You can ask anyone/Just don't ask my real good friends/'Cause they will lie to you/Or worse they'll tell the truth./Cause there are things you would not believe/that travel into my mind/I swear I try and capture them, but always set 'em free/It seems bad things comfort me"

It's easy to step into a church and pick out who you think is Joe Christian. They're the person who's probably memorized Bible verses, who is dressed prim and proper, who is quick to volunteer for everything the church needs. And we look at these people as the epitome of faith. The people we aspire to be like. These, we think, are the REAL Christians.

But what if we could get a God's-eye view? What if we could X-Ray past the surface? What if we could delve into the hearts and the minds of the people who attend our churches. Maybe on Sundays we'd see something fit for Disney. But weekdays, I guarantee you that those same "super Christians" would have enough filth in their thoughts and hatred in some of their actions and lust in their hearts to make you cringe. Why? Because we're sinners. As the Word says, no one is righteous, not one.
I can guarantee you that if you were to X-Ray into the thoughts of John MacArthur or Billy Graham, you'd see some of the same things you'd see passing through the brains of convicts in prison.

Do you see what grace does? It levels the playing field. As Ephesians says, "No one can boast." There's no such thing as a better christian. As Christians, we're beggars who have found food.

In fact, I wonder if some of the people who we would sometimes rashly peg as "lesser christians" have a better grasp of grace than us "super redeemed." After all, who did Christ come to? The screw ups. The people who messed up. Why? Because they were the ones who knew that grace was their only hope. And they clung to it like there was no tomorrow.

If I have a glass of water, I'm sure I'll think it's pretty decent (if bland). But let's say I was dying of thirst. My lungs are parched. My lips are chapped. The sun is beating down on me. And someone offers me a cold glass of water. I'll tell you what. . . I'm going to think that water is the best glass of water in the whole world. And that's the way I wonder if those who are "lesser"(note that I don't like that term) are. They've been down and have tasted the refreshment of grace in a way that those of us who have been sheltered for so long and content in our "goodness" haven't. And you know what? Those are the Christians I want to be around. Because they're the ones who know how good God is and how much we need Him.

Okay, I promise that's all for tonight! Time for bed!
C-Dubbs