Me Too

When I was in seventh grade I was given the nickname "Me too". You see, I had no self-esteem or confidence. Did anybody in 7th grade? I would love to hear about it. Anyway, no matter what other kids my age would say to me I would reply "Me too". As in, someone could say "My favorite thing to do is go to the doctor and get tons of shots" and I would say "Me too". "My favorite food is brussel sprouts". "Me too!" You get it? Well, thankfully God changed my life and gave me enough self-esteem to form some of my own opinions and ideas.

So why did I tell you that story? I was reminded of that nickname a couple of days ago when someone commented on one of my blog posts. She said that she really appreciated my "Me too" mentality because it encouraged her that she wasn't the only one struggling with things. She said that her pastor shares the same mentality. I started thinking about that and wondered if at some point I gave up my "Me too" nickname and chose to have a "Me too" mentality. The truth is, I don't know another mentality to have! That got me to thinking that maybe if when I started blogging close to 4 years ago I had realized somebody besides my sister and parents would read it that I might have done things a little differently. When I first started blogging we were preparing for our move to Mississippi. Our life was chaos and I termed the phrase "peacefully stressed" to explain the way we felt about the call God had placed on our lives. Neither of us had jobs or a place to live. We knew people thought we were crazy because we were moving to Ms. because Josh felt called to preach and we didn't even have a church here!

I've considered that perhaps I should have exaggerated a little or smoothed over some of the details. The truth is that on the computer I could say anthing and make our family sound anyway I want to. I could only tell you the super spiritual moments and show you only the pictures where everybody is smiling and tell you that we are awesome and have perfect children. I highly doubt anybody would buy that, but I could try.

So what am I getting at here? As I was pondering the "Me too" mentality I began to think about others who share the same mentality. Can I just get real honest right here? Sometimes church people get on my nerves. GASP! Yes, I heard it. And yes, I are one. I say that because sometimes it is so easy for Christians to get in a little pow wow and have the "Us vs. Them" mentality. We're good, they're bad. We know the truth, they don't. Well, I believe that the Bible makes it clear that God never intended for us to put on shiny, happy people faces and convince other people we have it all together. Sorry. It's just not there. It may feel nice and look pretty to the world when we do that, but it's just not reality.

Let me tell you who I think would join in the "Me too" mentality. I think that on days when I want to hide from God so my sins won't be found out I would find Adam and Eve struggling with the same shame. I can almost see a group of women talking about dealing with jealousy and see Sarah raise her hand and say "Me too!" For someone who is having a hard time letting go of sins in their past I can see a sympathetic Rahab nodding in agreement with the shared heartache. When I lose it and have a screaming fit in anger I often wonder if Peter would tell me, "Man, I know how you feel. I lost it and cut a guy's ear off!"

No, none of those things are anything to proud of. I won't ever encourage celebrating sin or our struggles. I just think we do ourselves a disservice by not sharing those struggles with others who understand. And do you know who the main person who understands is? Jesus. Yes, even the 9th grade boys I teach would get that right, because Jesus is their answer for every question I ask in class. But it is the truth. Hebrews 4: 15 tells us "For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was at all points tempted as we are, yet without sin." What an awesome savior we serve! He became human so that He could understand those struggles and temptations. What makes Him the savior is that He did not sin. So what are we supposed to do with our human, sinful self? "Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need." Hebrews 4:16 We don't have to make the same mistake as Adam and Eve (Genesis 3) and hide from God. He is waiting for us to come BOLDLY seeking His mercy and grace.

That mercy and grace puts us in a new "Me too" group. You see, I look forward to being at the great banquet feast one day and sitting at the table with great numbers of people who have accepted the grace and mercy Jesus offers. I figure Peter or Paul will speak up first, they were the most talkative of the disciples. One might say, "I am here because Jesus invited me and I accepted!" And then, like suppertime at our house when all three kids raise their hand to say the blessing, we will go around one by one and say "Me too!"