Today I want to start a conversation about "The Church". Probably will be spread out over a couple of devotions. And I think this conversation is needed now more than ever. Too many today are going about this life, not having friendship with God, and consequently not having a relationship with his people, "the church".
Many people have withdrawn from the church. Many people have withdrawn from almost everything and every body. Especially since the pandemic flipped our culture upside down.
Sometimes there are good reasons to withdraw and build walls or establish boundaries.
Maybe you've have bad memories relating to the church.
Maybe you fear that people will see your faith as a weakness. You can't trust them enough to share you're love for God or the relationship you secretly want to have with Him.
And so you build your own church. Your hidden church. Hiding within you.
Maybe you're hiding behind your ability to accomplish or accumulate good works, relying upon your own ways, instead of relying on God. Just checking the for-goodness-sake boxes in hopes of being "good enough".
Maybe your material possessions are your gods. Could it be that your stuff is your idol?
Maybe you're church is just lording over people. Focusing on all the fundamentals of religious life that separates you from them.
Maybe you're lying to others and yourself. And just building your own church, the church of one, built up on all your clever schemes and walls of separation.
Or maybe you're just like me, you're hiding behind your philosophy and knowledge of the scriptures.
That's me.
The lone wolf.
The prophet in the wilderness.
Avoiding any real intimacy with others in the church.
The "I don't need any body" guy in the body of Christ.
That's me, the part of the church body that doesn't need any of the other body parts.
So what does that make me?
Thinking about body parts.
Maybe I'm the appendix, I'm there, I'm maybe helpful under the right circumstances, but I could be surgically cut out and life within the body goes on. And if things ever get flared up too much, sometimes the best solution is to cut me out.
But did you know, some medical professionals believe that the appendix might serve as a great recovery tool in the body, it can be beneficial in times when disease has been attacking the gut. It can protect against the destruction of the beneficial gut bacterias.
Yea!
That's me!
I'm the appendix in the body of Christ.
In times when the disease of idolatry, false teaching, and down right AntiChrist behavior is invading the church from within. When it's right down deep, invading the gut of the church. There I am, doing what I can to protect the beneficial word and making certain those principles aren't left for dead when the attack is over. Sort of like a safe house for the truth.
So I guess in some ways it's a lonely sad state for the appendix in the body of Christ. It's not an organ that can be removed and replaced with a new one. And maybe this isolation hurts, and seems impossible to fix.
So what do we do about it? Should we do something? I think probably we should.
God says, in 1 Corinthians 12:12-21 that he has an answer to this question.
He tells us that we are one body made up of many parts.
And no one part should be excluded, no matter how different, difficult, hardheaded, self righteous...untalented. The body consists of God's people in all their strange ways. It's not a collective, or a denomination. It's not a creed, or museum-like building. The church is not a secular community center.
Folks...
WE ARE THE CHURCH!
The challenge facing "The Church" isn't maintaining and mainstreaming ever-increasing congregations of bodies. For the church the challenge is BEING the church body. A body of individual parts working together, unified, and singularly spiritually focused upon finding the labored and heavy laden and giving them rest. Giving them a restored relationship in friendship with God. The Church's mission is gathering confessions of faith for Christ Jesus, and giving those young in the faith children of God the tools they need to do likewise with the gifts God has given them in the way their particular body part functions.
God, through his Holy Spirit working in the church, changes us so that we can begin to trust one another, and love one another. First in the little things , and over time with the bigger things.
And the funny thing is, when we allow ourselves to open up to this possibility and begin to participate in this community of believers put together intentionally by God through his Spirit, we begin to become someone others can trust. We begin to love and share God's love. We share ourselves, we share our gifts in spite of our differences, and somewhere out there is someone just like us, who God's going to put into our path, and he uses us to help bring that child of God home.
That's the church.
That's us.
We are the church!
WHO IS THE CHURCH?
P.S.
It's Kairos prison ministry time again. And you and your bodies of Christ can help in many ways. Bake forgiveness cookies. Write letters of encouragement for the 42 participants. Join the prayer chain and empower that weekend with prayers.
We're building up the body of Christ at Sussex 1 and you can help.
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30E0F4CAEAC2BA1FB6-k10/14417749#/