Grace Is Messy and God Still Uses It

Being a Christian doesn’t always look the way you think it should. That’s not just an observation about today's church culture it’s a truth woven deep into the story of Scripture itself.

We’ve built subcultures within Christianity, each with its own customs, expectations, and judgments. Whether it’s the youth pastor allowing boys and girls to swim in the same pool or the preacher who enjoys a beer with dinner, we all tend to carry our regional and cultural convictions into our faith walk. But when we mistake those preferences for biblical mandates, we begin to lose sight of the wild, disruptive grace that defines the Gospel.

The truth is, the church has always been a messy place filled with messy people. That includes the first people Jesus called to follow Him.

The Apostles Were Not Saints with Halos

When we think of the twelve apostles, we often picture them in stained glass stoic, serene, and impossibly holy. But the men Jesus called were not models of moral excellence or even reliability.

Peter, for example, had a bold heart but a wavering mouth. He walked with Jesus for three years, saw miracles firsthand, and yet, when asked by a servant girl if he knew Jesus, Peter denied Him three times. And not politely. “I do not know the man!” he shouted, even calling down a curse on himself to prove his point (Matthew 26:74).

What would we do if a pastor today stood at the pulpit and said, “I don’t even know Jesus”? We’d be shocked, hurt, maybe even angry. Yet Peter flawed, fearful Peter—was still chosen by Christ to lead the early church.

Then there are James and John, brothers so fiery that Jesus nicknamed them “sons of thunder.” When a Samaritan village refused to welcome them, they asked Jesus if they should call down fire from heaven to consume it (Luke 9:54). Jesus rebuked them. But still, He kept them close.

Jesus didn’t shy away from the unpredictable. He welcomed it. He used it. And He transformed it.

Matthew the Sellout and Simon the Zealot

Perhaps the most outrageous pairing in Jesus’ group was Matthew, the tax collector, and Simon, the Zealot. Matthew was a Jewish collaborator with Rome, funneling money from his own people into the hands of their oppressors. In Jewish eyes, he wasn’t just greedy he was a traitor. The kind of man who got rich by robbing families blind.

Simon, on the other hand, was likely a radical. The Zealots were known for violently opposing Roman rule. They were insurgents, willing to kill for their cause. It’s no stretch to imagine Simon and Matthew would have seen each other as mortal enemies.

And yet, Jesus called them both. He didn’t ask them to clean up first. He didn’t wait for their political positions to align. He said, “Follow me.” And they did.

If grace could unite a traitorous tax collector and a religious terrorist, it can surely reach anyone today.

God’s Grace Doesn’t Follow Our Schedule

Too often, we expect new believers to become perfect Christians overnight. When a celebrity professes faith like Blac Chyna recently did skeptics line up to question whether it's real, whether it's too fast, whether it fits the mold. But sanctification is a process. God doesn’t work on our timeline.

Hebrews 10:14 says, “For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.” Notice the tension perfected and being sanctified. That’s the mystery of grace. We are declared righteous even as we are being made holy. It’s not instant. It’s not clean. It’s not comfortable.

A 2020 Pew Research study found that 28% of U.S. adults who were raised Christian no longer identify with the faith. Many cited hypocrisy and judgmentalism as their reasons for leaving. What might change if they saw grace as something alive and messy, rather than a performance of moral perfection?

Real Holiness Looks Different

Holiness isn’t about appearances. It’s not about avoiding swimming with the opposite gender or skipping a glass of wine. True holiness is much deeper and much harder. It’s loving your enemies, serving the poor, and forgiving the unforgivable. It’s staying faithful when no one sees. It’s speaking truth with love, praying when you’re tired, and choosing joy when life hurts.

It’s the kind of holiness that can only come from someone who knows they’ve been rescued by grace.

You cannot sanitize grace. You can’t wrap it in khakis and expect it to act like it belongs in a suburban boardroom. Grace reaches down into the darkest places and pulls people into the light, sometimes kicking and screaming, sometimes crying, but always transformed.

Jesus doesn’t call perfect people. He perfects the people He calls.

And that means if you're still struggling, still stumbling, still trying to figure this faith thing out you’re not disqualified. You're exactly the kind of person Jesus has always called.

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