As many of you know, I happen to have a Facebook account, and so, on those occasions where I sign on, I get to see many of the memes that make their way across such social media accounts. I can recall one recently which said something along the lines of this: If you find that you have had your trust in your church cause you to consider leaving, you have put your trust in the wrong place. In many respects, such a sentiment is spot on. The main point of this gathering of people we call the Church is that we rejoice that we are a people redeemed by Jesus Christ, and thus, made right with God. Our hope and trust is in God and in His gracious action toward us, in forgiving us, in renewing us, and in giving us a place to strengthen that belief.
Yet, I believe that this sentiment also somewhat misses the point. The big point I want to raise for us right now is that, when God brings together this thing called the Church, He brings together people who are broken and tainted by sin, and who may strive valiantly against that sin in their lives, but who remain sinful people nevertheless. That means that it is inevitable that we will hurt each other through our sinfulness.
Our hope and trust is in the God who creates this Church. It's not in the people of the Church. And yet, we also have to admit that the people of the Church will inevitably have an impact upon us and our faith in Jesus. For example, if we see the leaders of the church engaged in gossip, or slighting a member of the congregation intentionally, that has an impact on the people who see and hear such a thing. Distrust is created, which truly can harm the faith of some.
So, that means that we strive to remember that everything we do as Christians does indeed have an impact in our lives together in the Church. Our hope is that we mature enough to learn how to deal with our fellow sinful believers who have been redeemed by the blood of Jesus. And that leads directly to the question of the day.
What do you expect from your fellow Christians in the Church? If you are expecting a holy life, you will likely be severly disappointed. If you are expecting them to give and give, and not need in return, you will probably also be disappointed. However, if you expect that you are going to see great demonstrations of faith as well as great demonstrations of sin in their lives, you may have a more realistic expectation. After all, they are there, as are you, because they are a sinful human being, who just happens to have been redeemed by Jesus, and who now is engaged in a lifelong struggle with the sin that still lives within them.
So what do you expect when it comes to your fellow Christians? How you answer that question could have a great deal of impact on your experience with them when you gather togeher with them.
Yet, I believe that this sentiment also somewhat misses the point. The big point I want to raise for us right now is that, when God brings together this thing called the Church, He brings together people who are broken and tainted by sin, and who may strive valiantly against that sin in their lives, but who remain sinful people nevertheless. That means that it is inevitable that we will hurt each other through our sinfulness.
Our hope and trust is in the God who creates this Church. It's not in the people of the Church. And yet, we also have to admit that the people of the Church will inevitably have an impact upon us and our faith in Jesus. For example, if we see the leaders of the church engaged in gossip, or slighting a member of the congregation intentionally, that has an impact on the people who see and hear such a thing. Distrust is created, which truly can harm the faith of some.
So, that means that we strive to remember that everything we do as Christians does indeed have an impact in our lives together in the Church. Our hope is that we mature enough to learn how to deal with our fellow sinful believers who have been redeemed by the blood of Jesus. And that leads directly to the question of the day.
What do you expect from your fellow Christians in the Church? If you are expecting a holy life, you will likely be severly disappointed. If you are expecting them to give and give, and not need in return, you will probably also be disappointed. However, if you expect that you are going to see great demonstrations of faith as well as great demonstrations of sin in their lives, you may have a more realistic expectation. After all, they are there, as are you, because they are a sinful human being, who just happens to have been redeemed by Jesus, and who now is engaged in a lifelong struggle with the sin that still lives within them.
So what do you expect when it comes to your fellow Christians? How you answer that question could have a great deal of impact on your experience with them when you gather togeher with them.
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