We’re a lot like porcupines. Fight or flight? We carry our own little arsenal of quills. We call these barbs rejection, condemnation, resentment, arrogance, selfishness, envy, contempt. Sure, we do a good job of hiding them, but if you get too close, you’ll find them. And these quills will burrow under your skin, fester, and even kill. So, like the porcupines, we learn to either attack or withdraw. We shoot our own barbs back, or we hide behind walls we build. We all have porcupines in our lives, but the problem is not just them. Each of us is somebody’s porcupine. We’re all slightly irregular, we’re all “as is” no matter how well we have learned to hide it. We’re all sheep that have gone astray. We’ve all fallen short of God’s glory. That’s the beauty of God. He accepts us and loves us, AS IS.

Scripture References: Colossians 1:3-14, Isaiah 53:6, Romans 3:23, John 13:34, 1 Peter 1:22, Romans 5:8

Related Topics: Belonging, Christian Living, Church, Humanity, Journey to God, Love, Relationships, Salvation, Sanctification, Sin, Spiritual Growth, Surrender, Teamwork | More Messages from Dr. Jim Mann | Download Audio

From Series: "Nobody's Perfekt"

In our last series we talked about how important community and friendship are. But what happens in the real world? How do you get along with imperfect people? Offensive people? Weirdos? Sinners like us? Join us for Dr. Jim Mann’s new sermon series, “Nobody’s Perfekt” as we look at biblical wisdom for managing relationships – both the good and the bad.