Galatians 2:11-14

Galatians 2:11-14 
English Standard Version (ESV)

  One of the hardest things that we deal with is when people or organizations don't have integrity between what they say and what they do.  We can maybe handle it if there's discrepancy in a little thing once or twice, but that starts to erode trust, and the larger the discrepancy gets, the harder it is for anyone to trust us again.
  The church has this problem -- the church will show up in public scandals, where something that was kept under the rug for decades will suddenly be exposed in the light, and suddenly there are thousands who can no longer trust the church.  While it would certainly be better if the church never dealt with some things, the reality is that the church is made up of people, and people are broken and often do thoughtless and hurtful things.  What the church needs to do in these situations is publicly repent and admit that it's dealing with some hard things.
  The church needs to do this on the big things, and we as church members need to do it on the smaller scale as well.  This doesn't make people turn from us -- what it instead does is make us more attractive, because people outside the church see the people inside the church as real people, struggling with everyday life issues, trying hard to be perfect but failing most days, relying on the grace that covers us.  I'll admit that I struggle putting God first in my time and in my finances -- I deal with greed issues, as I want more.  That stems from how I have a hard time trusting God to provide -- I try and do it on my own, unable or unwilling to completely fall into the perfect and reliable arms of God.
  I'm not perfect, and yet there is a place in the church for me and the rest of the imperfect people in this world.  God's grace and mercy, what Jesus Christ did on the cross, is what makes us acceptable before the throne.  God loves us and comes to us as we are, in all our imperfections, and comforts us, encouraging us, calling us forward to grow in faith.