In yesterday's blog I laid out some of the problems of church, and some of the problems of membership in a church. These are real problems and it is not in my power to erase them, but there are two sides to this coin. While there are problems in the church because, as I wrote yesterday, the church is made up of people, they are for the most part people who have been redeemed, changed by the Lord. Over the years I have had sweet fellowship with a lot of these people. There were people in my former churches who blessed my life and made me a better pastor for it. There were people in my former churches who were critical of me in order to help me. I might have been late in realizing that, but it was true nonetheless. They were acting out of love, not out of hatefulness or arrogance. All of these saints served to make me a better pastor and a better human being. Of course, there were the other people that I wrote about yesterday, but they couldn't erase the gentleness and caring of those who were serving the Lord.
While I pointed out yesterday that I sometimes despaired for the church, I want to point out today why I have been glad to be a part of it. I have seen many people helped because of a local church's generosity. I have seen churches help people financially, and otherwise, who could care less about the church. This is what Jesus would do if He were here.. Sometimes there were naysayers in the church who did not want to help anybody, but that did not stop the loving action of God's people. I have seen individual church members help people who needed help with no hope of any return for their selfless acts. Christ's church is at its best when it is helping people in its membership and outside of its membership. There is another dimension to this positive side of the church, and that is that the presence of the church, not the buildings but the people, reminds people that there is a God, and that He does care. When we are being Christ's Church at it's best, we are telling people about the God who loved them so much that He gave His only begotten Son for their salvation. We are not only telling them about Jesus, but we are trying to do what Jesus would do if He were here in the flesh. Regardless of the problems that churches encounter, they are trying to get the word out to a lost world. Because of this, I do not want to think of a world without a Christian church in it. If you will look honestly at the history of our country, and of the world, you will see the influence of Christ's churches in hospitals, schools, orphanages, etc. This short blog by no means covers all of the positive aspects of the church, but I hope that it will help you to see that, with all of their problems, Christ's churches are here for His purpose and that the world is better off because of it. DO NOT GIVE UP ON WHAT CANNOT BE DESTROYED. Bro. Joe
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AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
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