As one pastor says, "we are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared believe."  That's the Biblical truth.  But, "at the very same time, we are more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared hope."  That's Biblical grace.  As Romans 5:20-21 says, "...where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."

As Christians and as a church, we must grow in both the grace and truth that were perfectly embodied in Jesus Christ.  And we must carry His offer of forgiveness and restoration from sin to all those whose lives we can touch.

God has given us unique avenues of influence both individually and corporately as a church.  And, through the indwelling Holy Spirit, our spiritual mission is to carry God into all of the worlds that He allows us to inhabit.

As II Corinthians 5: 20 says, "...we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us."  And it is only through carrying God into our worlds that we find an eternal purpose that infuses our lives with meaning--an eternal purpose that transcends our suffering as we use the lessons learned through our pain to give others a future in Jesus Christ.  As II Cor. 2:14 says, "But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere."