Heard a great message Sunday by Chris Stapleton of The Rock Church. His message was titled Guarded. The point that he made that really hit home to me was that God is not looking for perfection, he is looking for availability. God is well aware that we as humans are not perfect. He doesn't want us to be perfect. What he does want is for us not to repeatedly sin intentionally and when we do mess up and sin to repent. He also wants us to be available to spread the good news of salvation and The Kingdom. This is something that I defiantely need to work on as well. There are many times I have an opportunity to be more helpful or to take the extra time to help, but don't because I am in a hurry to do something that won't matter a week from now. I think we all get wrapped up and lost in our careers and our narcissistic mentality. Being available might also require that you crawl out of your shell or comfort zone. A touching story relating to this that I heard recently was about a woman who was in line with her family at McDonald's. She said as they got in line they smelt a perpetual stream of breath taking body odor. As they peered to the front of the line they saw to homeless men buying a cup of coffee. The woman over herd the men saying that they only had enough money for a cup of coffee, but were more appreciative for the warmth that the restuarant was providing from the sub zero temperature. As the woman approched the apologetic cashier and placed her order, she also oredered to extra meals and asked that they be placed on a seperate tray. She then took the tray over to two homeless men, smiled, and said that God was blessing them through her. At that moment one of the men looked up at her with tears running down like a thawing ice cube. He looked her straight in the eyes as he gently clutched her hand and kissed it while exclaiming his utmost gratification. Her generosity touched the hearts of everyone in McDonald's as well as the employees. This is a great example of the availability that God is looking for. Forget perfection and focus on being available to those in need. Spread the word and show God's grace and love through your actions.
