Broken vessels.

Read Ephesians 2:1-10

Nobody's perfect.

We often seek to strive for an ideal. Fame, money, beauty,  world peace. It's like a Miss America pageant. 

The scriptures tell us something different.  We're all broken.

We try to fill ourselves up with those ideals we think will give our lives meaning, but because we are broken, it all leaks out and leaves a big mess all over the place.

But God's grace, when we choose to believe in Him, changes the contents. No longer must we be filled with selfish pride or other vanities.  Now we can be filled with His grace and His love.

We're still broken, so we will still leak, but the beauty of it is, now we're filled with something wonderful.  Now we are filled with the ability to do good things. Like the container of perfume the woman broke on Jesus' feet those few days before his death, what God fills us with is wonderful and glorious. Even more miraculous is, if we let Him, he will keep filling us up so we never run out.

So, let's be broken. Let's allow the love of God and His goodness to leak out of us and make a beautiful mess all over the place.

The state of the faith

I'm a simple man. 

I love my wife and my son. I have a few friends and only one or two whom I would call close. I'm not terribly complicated.  I suppose that helps when life becomes complicated.

It helps to have a simple faith.

Through the years, puzzles have held me in thrall. I don't mean the cardboard puzzles or the strange blacksmith's puzzles. I mean the puzzles of life and faith. Perhaps it's a spiritual gift, or it may just be a talent I possess,  but I can see connections that other people seem to miss. It took several years, but the whole of the scriptures has finally become clear: love God, love others. (See Mark's gospel, chapter 12, vv30,31). It's not complicated.

Yes, sin exists.  We all struggle with something.  Some people refuse to acknowledge sin for what it is. Some people overthink and see sin where it isn't. 

Let's start at the simplest point, then move on from there.