as promised something insightful....

this is something that came out of a conversation I had the other night.... (I hope you don't mind me quoting you and yes I saved the conversation so I could re-read it and ponder)

Luckily, God said to stop trying to measure up and instead start trying to relate, to God and to each other.

I think that is what is all boils down to.... Relating.... We already know we are NEVER going to be perfect, so we shouldn't spend so much time worrying about not being perfect.... we need to instead spend time trying to understand and encourage each other, and then we might find that we learn to understand God better in the process...

Part of what went on in the New Testament church was confession... but they didn't confess their sins so that they could be looked down upon or shunned by those that were better than them.... they confessed their sins to each other so they could hole each other accountable and encourage each other.... so they could relate to each other....

Sadly we have, for the most part, lost that art. The art of confession and the art of relating have become things that are seldom practiced in the church today.... we are too worried about beating ppl up with the Bible, and how we interpret what God has to say, to even begin to think that we can relate to each others problems.... and we are too afraid to confess out sins because we don't want to be rejected by those we consider closest to us.... we don't want to be thought of as bad ppl.... so we stay stuck in our runt of not confessing and not relating.... something needs to change.... something HAS to change.... ppl think Christians are hypocrites because for the most part we ARE! we talk so lavishly about having a loving relationship with God, but we REFUSE to have loving relationships with each other......