Change in perspective

Day 8
OT Reading: Genesis 20-22
NT Reading: Matthew 7

For several months I've been meeting with a gentleman currently housed in the Dubois County Security Center (really smart, well-rounded guy who has just made some bad decisions). He's showed an incredible desire to dig in and read the Bible, and as he's started to read Genesis lately he's made a discovery that a lot of people miss or never realize.

Ready for it?

A lot of these people in the Bible are really, REALLY messed up.

After openly telling me about this shocking new revelation of his, I could not have been more thrilled with the next statement out of his mouth. It was simply, "And that makes me believe in it even more..."

You see my friend, like many individuals, had come to believe that the Bible was full of examples of perfect people who NEVER messed up and NEVER strayed from the path that God had set out for them. Then, he started reading and found something quite different.

He went on to say that if he had written the Bible, he would have made it full of perfect examples. But the blatant imperfection of even some of the most well-known characters showed him an honesty and a level of authenticity that he had never seen before.

I'm afraid that too often we revere these men and women we read about as if they had a "special in" with God and didn't ever stray from His will. But as we look through the Scriptures, we see that Jesus alone was perfect. Outside of Jesus let's not forget that no matter how much they wrote, prayed, or were involved in God's plan...let's see them as they were...broken, flawed, and messed up sinners...just like the rest of us.