forgiveness

to the only sinner at my church:

i see you there, sitting in the back.

we all see you.

are you appropriately contrite during slow songs?

do you show immense thankfulness when grace is proclaimed?

are you just going to sit there while the rest of us stand, sway, and raise our hands?

don't you of all people know the sacrifice Christ paid for you?

we, the righteous, living the exemplified Christian life, are watching. and we can tell by your un-raised hand that your repentance is not genuine.

any Father would be a fool to kill the fatted calf for you.

here, watch me. i'll show you how it's done.

the worship leader is picking it up; if you love Jesus,

clap now.

if you don't clap, i'll know; you can't fool me.

what's that you say?

lost my focus?

no, no.

see i'm the righteous son.

i stayed faithful.

i've never committed a sin quite as heinous as yours.

i'm pretty sure that gives me the right to tell you when you're in the wrong.

~ signed,

ms. holierthanthou III

these thoughts came to me one day while visiting a church out of town. i was sitting near the back, lost in thought, questioning why the pastor was saying what he was and trying to find any Scripture at all to support what he was teaching. as a multi-tasker, while i was looking up verses that were not posted on the overhead screen, i was thinking that if someone were watching me instead of the speaker, they may form a misconception or two. and then i thought about all the times we watch others in church. all those times we make judgement calls we're not qualified to make. i think it's fairly obvious why the Lord tells us not to judge lest we be judged. even when we think we know something about a person, we still have no right to condemn them for anything. knowing the grace and mercy of our own redemption, we cannot begin to think about looking down on anyone else. especially our own brothers and sisters!

while shuffling through my ipod today, i came across jennifer knapp, a long-neglected friend. her song "hold me now" is one of my all time favorites. and while we're on the subject of redemption and forgiveness, i thought i'd post the lyrics here as a beautiful reminder:

"hold me now"

from glass alabaster, she pours out the depths of her soul

oh, foot of Christ, would You wait if her harlotry's known?

falls a tear to darken the dirt of humblest offerings to forgive the hurt

she is strong enough to stand in Your love

i can hear her say

"i'm weak, i am poor

i'm broken, Lord, but i'm Yours

hold me now, hold me now"

let he without sin cast the first stone, if you will

to say My bride isn't worth half the blood that I've spilled

point your fingers, and laugh if you choose

to say My beloved is borrowed and used

she is strong enough to stand in My love

I can hear her say

"i'm weak, i am poor

i'm broken, Lord, but i'm Yours

hold me now, hold me now

when i'm weak and i'm poor

i'm broken, Lord, but i'm Yours

hold me now, hold me now"

- jennifer knapp

kansas