Proof Reading and Life

We just sent out a mailing of around 1,600 names of our current newsletter mailing list and most of the alumni of Central Christian College. It was a big ordeal. Two printed envelopes, a letter, a brochure and an ad that pointed people to our YouTube presence with Harvesters International. We proof read all the materials more than I thought anyone should and each time, we found mistakes. The worst of which was probably the wrong 800 number leading people to a call-girl site... I guess that might work for recruiting, but never mind. It was a simple mistake, of typing 1-888 instead of 1-877. But, we did catch that in time along with other misspellings, and bad formatting. After us, it went to the printer who caught a few more.

We received our own copy today in the mail... and well, bam...! The first thing I see is that the letter isn't in color. There is no signature on the letter. The brochure front is off centered. The CD placard is also a shade or two off from the original color. And well, I just didn't think it looked very professional. After a lot of effort. A lot of expense. A lot of proof reading. A lot of mistakes corrected. And we still didn't get it right.

And yeah, aren't we all like that? We work and strive to be more like Christ and yet every week during communion, or every evening at the end of the day, we look at ourselves in the mirror and realize there are so many flaws. No matter how we have tried to diet, tried to memorize, tried to pray, tried to avoid temptations of all kinds, we fail. We have blemishes. We have not given God glory by our attitudes and actions. Every day. Same story. Lots of effort goes into improving our lives. Lots of expense into improving ourselves. A lot of looking into God's Word to determine what more we need to do to become more like Christ. And so much has already been corrected. And yet, we still aren't perfect. Are we?

Regardless of the bad formatting of our introductory letter explaining the common sense of Harvesters International, the message is still there. Embedded behind poor color choices, cut off graphics, and missing signatures. The labor we do is still being exhibited.

And because of our mortal flaws, the grace of Christ is still being exhibited in each and every one of us. Because of those things we want to improve, we can sympathize with others. We can understand that perfection is only obtained through Christ. I'm learning a lot about grace with every new student who walks in our office. When they tell about the tragic things in their lives, the hardships, the abuse, the lack of comfort, the lack of love and affection... and yet, here they are. Trying to use those weaknesses to not only improve themselves but to take the love of Christ to people all over the world who are just like them. Who are just like us.

Sure, we can proof read all we want. But, until we see ourselves the way Christ sees us, we'll always find problems. Always. And until we see others through the grace of Christ, we'll never see what he sees in them either. We will only see the weaknesses. What message of grace can they teach us though? Take another look at those around you. You might find their mistakes are your corrections.