You ever watch those movies where there is an alternate ending, they never show those in the movie theater, they always wait till DVD so you can pay for them first off but also so you can have the control.  Wouldn’t it be awesome if we could watch those in the theater instead of waiting, almost as if we could get it right the first time.  Now let me tell you two separate stories and then we will decide about the ending together, I wont force it on you as the movie theater does. But you might want to buy a soda and popcorn, and don’t forget the tooth picks, I mean really who eats popcorn without toothpicks.   

First, There is a person who lives a pretty good life, has focus on the goals they have set for themselves, has desires to see things happen and ultimately be someone in life.  This person is a Christian, they follow Jesus and mostly live by the rules.  You see I say mostly because there are times in this person life they fail, A LOT.  This person knows no one is perfect therefor they are not perfect but they try their best.  See this person has things that still bother them, they still battle with telling then entire truth, but no worries, they knew what they were talking about so it’s okay.  They also battle with being someone that you can count on but there are numerous times that they are not on time and do not follow through with the tasks that they asked for, but again this is all okay because in their heart they feel they are someone of their word.  Not to mention the BIG sin.  You see we all have it, just because this person asked Jesus into their heart doesn’t mean what troubled them before will not trouble them again. They battle this monster on a daily basis and at times fall victim to it.  The shame they feel is at times to much to bare and if people found out about it they would never want to show their face anywhere again.  Feeling guilty but  yet receiving forgiveness they move on, they forget it happened and continue on with life.  Of course this person deals with other things as well, judging, attitude problems, bitterness, guilt, shame, and other stuff we have yet to mention, but they understand its a process this thing called Christianity so they are okay with where their at spiritually and they move on. 

The second story is much like the first.  The person in this story also has accepted Jesus into their life and desires to be like Him each day.  This person also falls short in so many areas.  They seem to be someone that doesn’t tell the whole truth but expects us to believe them, or understand why it didn’t happen exactly as they say.  Because of this we are starting to lose trust in them.  This person also has a hard time following through on things they are supposed to do and they are always late for events, its almost become a joke with their friends and now we don’t even bother asking them to over see things.  This person also battles sin, and I mean lots of it.  They trust in us so we listen, they are open and transparent so we hear their entire life story and to be honest we have lost respect for them.  At first it was not a whole lot but now we almost don’t even respect them at all and wonder if their salvation is real because how can they act like that and be a Christian.  Did I mention they have way to many issues to mention and make this blog readable.  

These two stories are not very different, the people in them are very similar.  They both battle certain sins, they both fall short in their eyes and both fight each day to become more like Jesus.  The difference however, the change in the story and the alternate ending is that in one there seems to be a lot of built in grace and in the other because of their actions they have forced us to act differently and to be painfully honest, because of their actions it forces us to act less Christ like.  You see the person in the first story is US.  Its you, and its me and its how we handle our issues and our short comings.  And the person in the second story is someone else, could be our family or friends or someone that we know.  The problem is that we are holding them to a higher standard than us, and sadly enough judging them by their actions and ourselves by our intentions.  I think its time to change the ending in the second story, I think its time to afford to them the same grace that we long so much for in our own lives.