Saint and Sinner

^{I was looking over some of my devotions from last year and found this.  I wanted to save it to my blog so I would have it forever, so that's why there are two devotions for today. -Karen}

¹⁹ For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous. –Romans 5:19

The children's Christmas program is one of the highlights of the season for me.  Even if I am not personally connected to one of the little ones, I attend; because even if it's one of those years when I am not particularly feeling the spirit of Christmas, every last ounce of "scrooge" is drained from my heart by watching the joy and excitement of these children.  How much more exciting it was for me this year with Cecelia getting to be a part of the program!

She was so excited to get to be an angel!  She talked about it all week.  But when we got to the church she discovered (to the chagrin of ANY 2-year-old) that she was NOT to be the center of attention.  There was so much activity going on around her.  It was kind of scary for her and I felt her on the very verge of tears.  However, she wanted to be an angel with all her heart and soul, so even though it was out of her comfort level, she put on the pretty white and gold costume and allowed the shimmering halo to be placed on her head.  She was an angel!  We looked in the mirror and showed off to Mommy and Daddy and although she would have preferred that I hang around, she was okay staying with the cast by herself waiting to be brought on stage. 

And of course, to this grandma's eyes, she was perfect... everything an angel should be.  Well almost.  You see, recently Cecelia has discovered that her finger fits perfectly into her nose and she has been fascinated by this fact.  So... here is what she looked like most of her time on stage: 

 

But of course, to me, she still looked like the most angelic angel of all angels anywhere.  Only a grandparent could understand that reasoning.

And only God can understand how his children can be fully saints and fully sinners at the same time.  He nudges us to do something that might make us uncomfortable.  We want to do it with our whole heart and soul, but we are afraid.  But when we realize that God is nearby encouraging us, we get the courage to step out of our comfort zone and try.  Usually our efforts are less than perfect.  But God overlooks that.  He brushes away the “sinner” part of our nature and embraces the “saint.”  He knows that our finger is stuck up our nose, but it’s the glowing halo that brings him joy and that’s what he focuses on.

Don’t be afraid of God’s call because you don’t think you can do it perfectly.  God is not looking for perfection.  He is looking for us to express our love for him with all our heart and soul.  He only sees the saint… just like a grandma…

Father,

Thank you for overlooking our flaws as we express our love for you.  Keep nudging us to step out of our comfort zones even when we are afraid.  Amen.

Joys:  Children’s Christmas program; my Cecelia angel; Santa Claus