Church Full of Cotton Headed Ninny Muggins

We were watching Elf the other night, and I was especially struck by the toy-making scene where Buddy will miss his quota pathetically.  He is crushed by his obvious limits as an elf, famously calling himself "just a Cotton Headed Ninny Muggins."  What struck me (for the first time) was the response of all the other elves.  While Buddy is crushed and broken, the elves rush to his comfort, several chiming in to lift up his broken spirits.  "Buddy you're not a Cotton Headed Ninny Muggins."  "Buddy you have lots of gifts."  "Buddy, you're just special." Even though Buddy is not an elf in real life, and his being out of place in the toy factory is hampering their production, the elves just can't bear to see someone writhing in depression.  So they all break from meeting their individual quotas to cheer Buddy up and show him he's a part of the group and they love him.

What if church was like that?  What if church was a group of people who have committed to follow Jesus together, so that when one of them eventually shows incredible weakness in the particulars of living for Jesus, the rest of the crowd gathers around them to lift them up?  Truly if the Gospel of God's grace is being faithfully proclaimed in the church context, the reality of sin will be a part of the church's culture, so that repentance from said sin is regularly enjoined.  Thus when some believers are stuck in sin, unable to find repentance or freedom -- and make no mistake; we all do stumble in many ways (James 3:2), and there is no one who doesn't sin (1 Kings 8:46) -- they will look at everyone else and feel like a Cotton Headed Ninny Muggins.

But at that point their believing family within the church will move from merely sitting around them to entirely surrounding them.  The weak brother or sister will know that even though they're weak, they have a body of weaklings surrounding them to strengthen and restore them, by the Word of Christ.  This bearing with one another's burdens in fact fulfills Christ's Law (Galatians 6:2).  I think this is what the Apostle John spoke about when he said that we are sure we're loving our brothers and sisters in the Lord only when we are ourselves walking in His commands (1 John 5:2-3).  And I know it is what the Lord Himself meant when he said that our love for one another will set us apart in the world as the people of Jesus (John 13:35).  This kind of brutal honesty toward sin that lays us in the dust when we fail, but lifts us back up as other believers purpose to strengthen and restore us until we find repentance and freedom from our High Priest-King Jesus is not only helpful, but life-changing.  It is the essence New Testament Christianity.

This in no way minimizes sin.  Instead, it deeply intensifies the reality of sin.  And in so doing, it intensifies the need for believers to gather around one another when one is stuck.  All of us feel like a Cotton Headed Ninny Muggins at times, but in reality we are simply missing the mark.  But the encouragement of believing brothers and sisters who all together confess that they too miss the mark (Romans 3:23) is itself the Lord's hands and feet reminding us of His steadfast love and faithfulness.

Christian, you may be a Cotton Headed Ninny Muggins.  But you're a beloved Cotton Headed Ninny Muggins, and your Lord is interested in what you do from here.  Start with thankfulness for His grace toward you, and watch how the grace changes you.  Church, let's set the tone for patience, long-suffering, and burden-bearing.  Repentance is necessary, but repentance comes from the Lord as a grace (2 Timothy 2:25).  And often the means of grace is the community of Christ's followers - us, being Him to one another.

Bye, Buddy.