Have you ever considered Billy Graham or Joel Osteen as something almost like a saint? What about your grandfather? Or a close friend that has everything going seemingly perfectly?
I'd contend that none of the above are any "better" than me or you. Do you remember "Cash for Clunkers" (if you forgot, you might have failed alot of tests in school with a memory as short as that)... I'd introduce this: Christ for Clunkers.
I think about myself, I haven't become any more perfect than I was many years ago when I accepted Christ as Lord of my life. Osteen hasn't. Graham... hadn't.
The thing that cracks me up about this is that Cash for Clunkers only accepted the beat up cars that needed to be traded in for a new life. Nobody that owned a perfectly okay Mercedes could enter the program. So it is with Christ.
It's only when we realize that we are nothing without Christ when we truly understand God's design for our life. We cannot act as though what we had was great, we have to understand that it was worthless, meaningless.
In churches these days, you often see members bickering about that jerk who came in dressed inappropriately, or that girl that was too revealing, or this or that or the other. The truth is: They are just as busted up as we were without Christ. There is no "class" in the world. You're either a clunker who won't accept Christ or a clunker who has Christ and experiences his grace and mercy every day of your life.
It isn't about the church being "good" to its community. It isn't about a person doing a bunch of acts to try to win Christ by "being him" on earth without accepting Him. I'd rather be a clunker that accepts Him as Lord than a BMW who thinks my works are good enough.
