Fornicators...grace?

I must check myself, before I start saying what I’m about to say. I cannot judge. I cannot place myself as better than others. I cannot withhold grace.

Now with that said, may I walk this tightrope while expressing these thoughts.

Pearl and I are now in the good ol’South. We flew in on Thursday and we’ll be spending about a week relaxing and reconnecting with Family. It is so very nice to be back home, to be around family, and to share together all the stories of life.

For this story I must focus on one member of this crazy tribe, there will be other stories later of the rest but for now, this one starts with my older sister, Jen. I have one sister, she’s 3 years older, has a great husband, and an adorable little son. Now, my sister really does amaze me. She somehow got most of the brains in the family, she’s OCD when it comes to details, which I’m a little jealous of as my head is floating through the clouds, and she is a very committed loving person. Now don’t get me wrong there are things and times that she drives me nuts, and I am positive she could say the same, but I overall I have a very deep respect and appreciation for her, and of course she just adores her baby brother (well at least I hope she does).

Now, on with the story.

A little over a year ago she finished her masters in psychology and took a position at a State Correctional facility as the “Senior Mental Health Counselor.” She is responsible for the mental health and emotional healing of some 200 prisoners. So as we visited together she naturally wanted to show us her new office and give us a quick tour of the prison. Which, did I mention, was an all male prison, so here’s my sister and 200 men who haven’t seen a lady in months and I’ll leave it at that and let you imagine so of the crazy stories she has to share.

As Pearl and I arrive at the prison, Jen greeted us just past the gates and introduced us to most of her co-workers and walked us around the facilities, giving us the nickel tour. The tour and experience was something I’ve never seen before, and I could write a long blog about my feelings from that, but that’s another day’s topic.

Jen shard with us about how the guys live and some of the different “privileges” they are given. She said that each prisoner is rated 1-4 based on the level of offense they had committed. Those who are seen as a 3 or 4 will never leave the campus, but those who are just a 1 or 2 may be given outside privileges on work detail based on behavior. As we walked out to the car, a group of the “privileged” was being reintroduced to the facilities after a day of work detail around the community.

As Pearl and I drove back home and talked about our experience, we where blindsided by one of the most repulsive, horrible signs I have ever read. Within a mile of the facilities, along the main corridor, we read one of the most hateful signs that can be read.

This sign was one that men who are being punished for the mistakes they had made, who are left to sit on a bunk by themselves for hours rotting within their thoughts, a sign that the “lucky” ones, the “good” one have to read. Men that might feel broken, beaten, shamed, and degraded because of what they had done must read.

This sign was not hung outside of a KKK hall or an angry landowners home, but outside of a place that should be looked to as a place of hope, grace, healing, and acceptance. This sign was seen on a local church’s marquee.

The words “Fornicators shall not inherit the kingdom of God, 1 Cor 6:9-10” hung for all the world to see, but also conveniently hung for these men to read everyday as they go in and out to work detail.

These men no doubt are broken, hurt, and needing the redeeming restoring truth that God offers. Men who are needing a community that will extend unknown grace, acceptance, and love. Men who need to know that they were not designed to be evil, that remnants of good still lay with in them, that the image of the Divine can still be called out of them, that they are not trash, that they are not hopeless, that they can still be called good and noble.

I long to see broken men healed, to come to know God as I do and even better, to know the grace and acceptance that can restore one’s world.

I long to see local churches empowering people to stand with arms wide, hands reaching, hearts longing to help others into our communities. To be about what Jesus declared was the most important thing in this world, loving Him and loving others.

I long to see members of the church stop bickering over the unessential. To stop fighting over the small things and to start living the major things of scripture, hopefully starting first with figuring out what it means to love God and love others. (Matthew 22:38-39)

I looked a little deeper into this church’s declaration of 1 Corinthians 6:9-10.

The way the NLT translation reads is “don’t you know that those who do wrong will not inherit the kingdom of God? Don’t fool yourselves. Those who practice in…. will not inherit the kingdom of God”

The writer of this text lists 10 people who will not inherit the kingdom of God, beyond those in the general statement of “those who have done wrong.” Of these ten the Church likes to point out the “big ones” like idols, adultery, being a prostitute, being homosexuals or an alcoholic. But lets read the entire list including which includes those who have sexual sin, who have been thieves, who live greedy lives, are abusive, and have cheated others.

Lets ask all who have ever looked at pornography, or lusted at an attractive woman walking by or seen on TV, those who have ever stolen something, even someone’s time, affection, or trust, those who have been abusive, even to those working in sweat shops around the world by buying the cheaper item, or by contaminating and introducing disease to others by the amount of trash they produce from their self indulgence in the newspaper, packaged food, or paper products, let those who have ever cheated on a test, a tax, a truth, let all of these people stand up, and walk out of the church, cause only those left sitting according to this church’s proclamation of truth can inherit the Kingdom of God.

This passage is not a hateful passage, it provides hope and healing, but this church did not point to that. Let us know forget the closing words of this writer; “Some of you were once like that. But you were cleansed; you were made holy; you were made right with God.”

“Some of us”, today it seems like most of us, are in some way like the people in the list. We are all broken missed up people; none of us deserving to inherit the Kingdom of God.

BUT!!! That is not who we now are, we have been cleaned, we have been made holy, we have been made right with God!!

This is what the church sign should have read. This is what I long to see broken man reading, a hurting world engaging, Christians living and extending.

Screwed up? Messed up? We all are, but God’s grace is real, the acceptance is true. I don’t see you as hopeless, I don’t want to see you as the sum of your mistakes, I want to see you as fixable, redeemable, hopeful. God’s image and fingerprint can be found on you.

World, I am sorry for hateful messages like the one found on this sign, this is not the full message of Jesus, this is not what the church is to be about.

May I, may you, may the church be people who extend grace, who love God and love others. May we love justice, but may we also love mercy.

Yes, fornicators will not inherit the kingdom of God, but through grace they will.