Those zipper incidents

Do you ever get that feeling that something is just not right? You know that feeling when everyone is giving you a bizarre look? You know that feeling that makes you want to go say, "Mirror, Mirror on the wall, what the heck is wrong with me?!?!?!"

You know, like the pastor that gets up in front of the congregation only to realize that his zipper is unzipped. Kind of takes the punch out of his sermon.

Or the guy, the guy that always likes to smile, walking around with a big ole piece of lettuce stuck in his teeth...and he just can't help but smile. And neither can you.

Better yet, the girl that walks out of the bathroom (after having made sure that she was looking gorgeous) with a long, wet piece of toilet paper stuck onto the bottom of her shoe. She sure is gorgeous, now ain't she?

Or how about the little girls (or big ones too) that walk out of the bathroom, forgetting that their dress is stuck in their underwear...life is full of surprises.

For those that have learned a second language the blunders that one makes in trying to communicate...such as: Jonah was throw overboard during the big "Orange"; is that a new "horse" cut?!?!; or in Arabic the words "hairbrush" and a "man's private part" sound the same to new language learners (in which one proceeds to ask for the "hairbrush" in different colors, only to realize afterward what one is really asking for...)

Or my personal favorite...The loud tourists, the Americans and English especially, that don't understand why everyone is shooting them murderous glances...They don't seem to realize that if they'd shut up everyone would be SO much happier...

I could go on and on listing awkward and embarrassing moments...but I think everyone gets the point.

Spiritually, we all are in the same boat. We all walk around with our zippers un-zipped. The zipper could be classified as Sin.
Not everyone is perfect. We all could list personally embarrassing moments. Moments where we have just wanted to die on the spot.
Just the same, everyone of us is a sinner. We are not perfect.

Ironically we are called to be Perfect. Of course this is like saying to a newborn baby,"Sweetie, you are supposed to go through life without ever, ever embarrassing yourself." Now that's a whole lot of pressure for a kid...
Peter states in 1st Peter 1:14-16, "As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, 'You shall be holy, for I am holy.' " The first time I read that, I thought, "suuuure like that is ever going to happen."

However, it can.

We don't like to be told that we are sinners, just like we hate being embarrassed. But the sad truth is that WE ARE SINNERS.

BUT.

We are also loved by an All-Powerful God. Who "so loved the world, that He gave his only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16)." If we place our trust in Jesus Christ, we will be made holy. "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast (Ephesians 2:8-9)."
Just like that friend that walks up and quietly pulls you aside to let you know that you've got something in your teeth, or rescues you from those that mock your stupidity in walking out of the bathroom with your dress tucked into your underwear, so Jesus stepped in and took our shame, our sin, and our burdens, so that we might be holy.

Do we merit that? Do we merit that Love?

By no means.

But God still loves us.