Ryan Holliday has created a lucrative niche writing about the Stoics. Unlike writers on spiritual disciplines from the Christian tradition who are not mainstream evangelicals. He recently looked a a series of Stoics who, although writing deeply about wisdom, weren’t always all that wise in action. They made mistakes in their daily and business and political lives.
Jesus never invited a perfect person into his group. Never. Check them all out. Flaws. Some glaringly obvious. Peter—need I say more? James and John arguing over political positions in the kingdom that was coming. Mary, the former prostitute.
Yet, our evangelical churches (maybe almost all churches?) act as if you need to be perfect to join and remain perfect for life. Otherwise, the gossiping, avoiding, criticizing begin.
But (and as they like to say, a big but), we are not perfect. Not one of us. Perhaps some of us manage to sail through the calm waters of life thinking we’re perfect, but those people are delusional.
God made an unforgettable impression on me in mediation years ago by showing me all the ways in which I am not perfect. Not that I don’t have small remembrances many times a day of actions where I was less than perfect.
That’s OK. God also showed me that none are perfect, yet all are welcome into his domain. Jesus brought them all into the fold. Perhaps we need to learn a lesson.
This has a name, and its name is grace.
Faith Venture 
Leave a Reply