i'm right, aren't i?

In church today, I was simultaneously convicted and overjoyed when God graciously gave me a glimpse into my sin-drenched heart.

Since I arrived in Parral, even from the very day of my arrival, I've been looking for ways to prove how my Christianity is better than that of my Mexican church family. I came here with a barely-sealed wound against anything that savored of Pentecostalism, and when I first walked into the church here, that wound opened wide once again. Since then, I've seen my new family through the eyes of suspicion, keeping them wide open for abuses of emotionalism, poor doctrine, an overemphasis on the individual, or whatever else has made me wary of Pentecostals in the past.

And thus far, I've been humbled and completely proven wrong by what I've seen. These people are real. Most of them have been saved out of ridiculous pre-conversion situations like drug or alcohol addiction, party-it-up lifestyles, and lifeless Roman Catholic rituals. I have a friend (we'll call him Hugo) who was so addicted to sniffing crack that his nose looks as if it has been broken several times over. And then Jesus found him. I love watching him worship the true King, because he's been through hell.

These people often face persecution. Being a Protestant in Mexico is slightly akin to being a penguin in the Saraha. They're definitely outsiders, since this country has been tightly controlled by the Catholic church for hundreds of years. The pastor of the church told me a story the other day about someone who is a drug addict. Apparently this guy's mother told him that she'd rather him be a drug addict than a Protestant. That's the kind of social atmosphere in which my new family lives.

These people, my new family, also truly live the Gospel. I've never been in a church like this before. They are dedicated to the expansion of the Kingdom. My brothers and sisters here really practice their faith, especially when it comes to sharing the truth of Jesus Christ with those that haven't yet been rescued.

Sometimes their style doesn't match my preferences, but what does that matter? Sometimes they emphasize one teaching more than I would like, but does that change the fact that God is radically working in and through them? Even if (on the extreme offchance) I'm 'right' and they're 'wrong', they are my brothers and sisters, and it is my greatest privilege to serve them in self-denying love.

Oh, dear friends...it's really hard to learn these lessons, especially when one's heart is hard with self-righteousness. Praise GOD for his grace, which soften the hearts of even the most brittle Pharisee (aka, myself).