Embracing Our Mess: The Beauty of Community in Church

People are a mess. This isn’t news, you’ve seen it first hand and (I’m guessing here), you’ve probably lived it too.

We live in a world that often demands perfection and it’s easy to feel like a failure when our lives don’t measure up to the high standards we set for ourselves and others. We make questionable decisions and we often choose the path that makes life harder than it needs to be, it’s part of the experience of being human.

Honestly, it’s tough to live life surrounded by the chaos of it all! And we may hope that going to church will give us a break from the messiness because we’re people of God, so of course we’ve all suddenly got our acts together – but that’s just not the case. The reality is, each one of us is a work in progress, with our own unique struggles, doubts, and imperfections.

So why even go to church, if the people there are a wreck too?

The simple answer, for me at least, is community. Church should be a haven where we can bring our messiness and be embraced by the other strugglers. It’s a place where we don’t have to pretend to be someone we’re not. In fact, the messier we are, the more we come to understand the depth of God’s grace.

Church (and I’m not just talking about the building here, but the actual community of believers) isn’t a place to showcase how great we are…it’s a place to show how great God is.

Paul even talks about this in II Corinthians 12:9-10:

Each time he said, ‘My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.’ So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

This whole process is far from a simple, straight line - we will stumble and make mistakes, but through God’s grace and mercy we’ll find our way. When we are a part of a faith community, we open ourselves up to learning from others and allowing their support to help us through our struggles. In turn, we have the chance to offer our love and support to them. A healthy church environment nurtures spiritual growth.

So, if you’re feeling like your life is a bit of a mess, remember that you’re not alone. Church is not about being perfect; it’s about coming together in our imperfection and allowing God’s grace to shine. It’s about being real with each other and with God, and finding strength in our shared faith.

When I look at my life and I see the relationships I've built over time in my church, I can see how much richer my life is with all these wild, messed up characters. I'm glad they are awkward and complicated like me because if they were perfect, I wouldn't fit in at all.

I encourage you to try new things - volunteer for the kids' ministry, join a Sunday school class or a small group, help out with the coffee bar. It's important to get in there and make connections, these things take time.

Embrace the messiness, and let the church be a place where you can find both solace and strength. It is here, in the midst of our imperfections that we discover the beauty of grace and the power of community.