I really do think that the human nature in all of us is looking for perfection—admit it or not—we would like the perfect job, the perfect wife, perfect kids, house and life. And oh yeah—the perfect church.

But it is sort of like what that unnamed comedian said at one point: I don't want to be a member of any organization that would accept me as a member.

We live with high ideals as to what we belong to will accept—little do we realize that we have painted ourselves into a corner.

I used to relate to people based on what they thought of the church we attended or the pastor or home group we were a part of. If they were not at "church" on Sunday, it was a mark against their good character. As if attending a meeting every week meant anything in the overall scheme of things.

In other words, there is really a time in our lives when we relate to the people around us in terms of the organizations we belong to rather than the fellowship we find in our daily lives. But oh how shallow that view of friendship and the world we live in is. And how limiting it is to our development as human beings.

At this point in my life I could care less what you think of the meetings I attend. I am even to the point of believing that people who don't come to regular meetings are in reality a part of the church I belong to. We will continue to invite them to our house for dinner and social events and if they never come to the Sunday meeting, they are still a apart of the body that we are a part of.

This is a radical and very much a God thing. I was all about the organization for many, many years. That is until those that led the organization made sure that I could never live up to what they expected for me to be a part of what they were promoting.

But old mind-sets are hard to fully get rid of and I find myself wanting to fall back into the box that I have finally pulled my self out of.

The secret is to begin to forgive ourselves and give ourselves the grace to be who we are rather than buying into what someone else thinks we should be in order to be a proper Christian.

We need to get onto what God has set before us and not expect everyone else to follow suit—hook line and sinker. Grace means just that—Gods Riches At Christ's Expense.

I haven't said a lot today—but hopefully I have said enough.