In the ideal church it'd be less about the craic and more about the cross. Our friendships would permeate the outward façade and get to the depths of the soul. We could share our brokenness and marvel at the goodness of the Lord. We wouldn't be afraid to admit that we were shattered inside, that we didn't understand the providence’s we were being dragged through.
We wouldn't emanate an air of middle classness, to the neglect of those who weren't. We'd welcome the outcast and the poor. The weak and the obviously broken.
We'd truly be a community. With all the walls broken down. Fully grasping what it meant to be a brother and sister in the Lord.
We can long for this. We can criticise that this is not what our church is. That the true sense of community is missing. But sometimes we are those who need to be the change. We need to step out from behind our stained glass masquerade and dare to truly embrace the community of Christ as it was meant to be.
We wouldn't emanate an air of middle classness, to the neglect of those who weren't. We'd welcome the outcast and the poor. The weak and the obviously broken.
We'd truly be a community. With all the walls broken down. Fully grasping what it meant to be a brother and sister in the Lord.
We can long for this. We can criticise that this is not what our church is. That the true sense of community is missing. But sometimes we are those who need to be the change. We need to step out from behind our stained glass masquerade and dare to truly embrace the community of Christ as it was meant to be.
You are so right when you talk about where so many churches fail and fall short. You are also right when you state that WE can make the change.
ReplyDeleteI have been lucky that I have found such an ideal church, one that values the cross and people, one that is intent on making a difference in the lives of others.
Those churches may be rare, but they are there and all it initially took was ONE person to stand up and make that change.