This weekend our church joins United Methodist churches across the country in the Rethink Church campaign.  This will challenge us as a congregation to “be the Church” both inside the walls of our campus and outside those walls.  This week our staff had the opportunity to hear from Pastor Mike what direction this campaign will take in our community.  It was an inspiring meeting that left us excited about the upcoming weeks and months.  As Pastor Mike was talking, I could not help but think about the implications for our families.  He mentioned several times that we as a staff are the role models for what being a Christian out in the world looks like.  I transferred that concept to parents as the role models for their families.  This sounds somewhat obvious and simple enough, but there is pressure that comes with that responsibility.
 
How do you be a role model of what a Christian looks like when you are flawed and imperfect, and well, not Jesus?  One word - authenticity.  As a follower of Christ, I am always trying to be more like Him, and hopefully as I continue on this path, those around me will see that I am different because of my faith in Jesus and they will want to know why that is.  I hope they see extra kindness in me, compassion that goes beyond the norm and a spirit of joy and peace that can really only come from God. 

But what about those times when I am not as kind as I should be or I get so absorbed in my own life that I fail to notice others’ pain?  This is when I share with others, first, sincere regret for anything I might have done to hurt them, but also that God loves me in spite of my failings.  I don’t have to be perfect to be a Christian because Jesus did that for me.  And in my imperfection, He gives me grace.  Grace that I don’t deserve, grace that is there before I need it and grace that blankets me when I do.  This is not an excuse to be “bad,” but rather an allowance to be human.  I am ever striving to be closer and more like Jesus, but I will falter along the way.  Just as we tell our children that we still love them even when we are mad at them, God’s grace goes even deeper than that.  And, it is in that grace that I often grow the most.  When I am failing miserably, and yet I can feel God’s love and grace and mercy, I am humbled and moved to continue the good fight.  

• What if our homes were a mini-example of that grace–filled life? 
• What if we offered each other love in spite of ourselves? 
• What if we apologized when we were wrong, even to our children, and let them see what it is like to be real with each other? 
• What if we extended this to those around us?  If we admitted our weaknesses and asked others to help us be stronger? 
• If we offered forgiveness when it wasn’t asked for and love when it was hardest to give? 

Then the “outside” world might be drawn to us because of that something special that they could not explain.  They might see a little bit of Jesus in us despite our flaws, and experience His grace through our authenticity.