What defines you?

In previous generations, perfection was the preference. Admitting your faults showed weakness and that was frowned on. Shows like Leave it to Beaver presented the ideal family living in an ideal world. Conflicts arose, mostly spurred by that nasty Eddie Haskell character, but everything was neatly resolved by the end of the show. Unfortunately, life is not that cut and dry. Its not that things have changed very much, its just that our perception has. There is nothing wrong with admitting weakness and struggles. Within the contexts of our communities, biblical communities, it should be safe to admit where we fall short and ask for help. That is why small groups are so vital to our walk. Life is too difficult to handle alone. There is freedom and protection is living life with a group that loves you and walks beside you. Knowing you are not perfect and waiting to pick you up rather than judge you when you fail.

As we dig into Romans for the next several weeks, we are going to examine some very important FACTS, like his week- People are broken. This is not something to debate. Romans repeatedly reminds us that “All have sinned” and “there is no one righteous, not even one.” So why do we work so hard to present perfection to others? Why are we so worried that someone might find out we sin? Why do we react so shocked and surprised when we find out someone else sins? What is the correct reaction to these moments when our sins or other’s sins are exposed?

John 13:34-35 gives us a pretty clear description of how we are to relate to each other. This verse is well known and often quoted, “By this all men will know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another,” but right before Jesus said that He commanded the disciples to love each other even as He loved them. The question them becomes, How did Christ love His disciples?” He loved them in spite of their faults, their sins, their doubts, or their backgrounds. Jesus defines us not by our darkest moments, but rather by our best moments. He defines us by our relationship with Him rather than what mistakes we have made in life. When Jesus met the woman at the well, He saw her as valuable and saw the future she could have rather than the past she had. The world defined her as an adulterer with way too many husbands, He saw her as His child. Examples are everywhere of encounters Christ had with people and His disciples where He viewed them differently than the world around them did.

How can we love each other like Christ loves us? One of the ways Jesus was able to love them was because he knew everything about them. Embedded within true community is having love for each other but also knowing the condition of each others soul is a prerequisite of that kind of love. Do you have that kind of community around you? Are you ready to love others that way? How do you define others? How do you want to be defined? Think about those questions this week as we deal with the fact that, “People are broken!”