I’ve heard a handful of people say they don’t go to church because “They don’t want to be judged.” I’ve even heard a couple of people joke, “If I stepped foot in a church, it would burn,” Though not something that would actually happen, there is something that is terrifying about church to some people, especially those who haven’t had a good experience.
If you are one of those people, this is for you! Let’s get one thing clear: the church won’t burn down if you show up. Everyone in church needs Jesus, just as much as the next person. So if you’re showing up to a church who isn’t welcoming you, find another one. Don’t stop until you find one that preaches the Bible AND strives to serve and love like Jesus. Sometimes we can lose sight of the importance of this, so keep searching. Jesus said, “Keep asking, and it will be given to you. Keep searching, and you will find. Keep knocking and the door will be opened to you” (Matthew 7:7). Last and most importantly, when you come to know Jesus, you are forgiven for everything. There’s grace for YOU!
Don’t believe me? Let’s look at Peter, one of Jesus’ closest friends and disciples. He denied Jesus, not once, not twice, but THREE times. While Jesus was walking an excruciatingly painful path, Peter was saying, “I don’t know that man.”
After Jesus was resurrected, He returned and met Peter. To our surprise, He didn’t return to Peter and say, “You denied me, and now I’m denying you – go to hell.” Rather, He gave Peter opportunities to REPENT:
He said, “Simon [Peter's given name], son of John, do you love Me more than these? [Peter answered] ‘Yes, Lord,’ ... ‘You know that I love You.’ ‘Feed My lambs,’ He [Jesus] told him.
A second time He asked him, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love Me?’ ‘Yes, Lord,’ he said to Him, ‘You know that I love You.’ ‘Shepherd My sheep,’ He told him.
He asked him the third time, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love Me?’ Peter was grieved that He asked him the third time, ‘Do you love Me?’ He said, ‘Lord, You know everything! You know that I love You.’ ‘Feed My sheep,’ Jesus said’ (John 21:15-17).
What does this tell us? Peter denied Jesus three times. Instead of condemning Peter to hell, which He very well could have done, Jesus instead gave him an opportunity to humbly repent and to return. He gives us the same opportunities. There’s an abounding amount of grace that we will never truly understand. From one sinner talking to another, we will always have sin in our lives, but there’s always room to repent. With that, we are commanded to “Feed His lambs,” “Shepherd His sheep,” AND “Feed His sheep.” We are called to invest in relationships so that others are fed and led to the foot of the cross.
Friends, everything feels so black and white sometimes. We fall off the train of “doing good,” and we let our guilt and shame keep us from returning to the only place we can truly ever receive grace and love: the foot of the cross. If sin, past experiences, or people are keeping you from getting there, lean in. Ignore the voices that are stopping you and run to the One who is calling you to continue to seek, knock, and ask. Believe it or not, there's room for you.
Have a great weekend!
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