Sunday, 06 February 2011
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A Love-Hate Struggle with the Church
By Justin at BeDeviantI read this early one morning during my meditations. This just about sums up my struggle with the Church. See if it doesn’t resonate with you somewhere:
How baffling you are, oh Church, and yet how I love you!
How you have made me suffer, and yet how much I owe you!
I should like to see you destroyed, and yet I need your presence.
You have given me so much scandal and yet you have made me understand sanctity.
I have seen nothing in the world more devoted to obscuirty, more compromised, more false, and I have touched nothing more pure, more generous, more beautiful. How often I have wanted to shut the doors of my soul in your face, and how often I have prayed to die in the safety of your arms.
No, I cannot free myself from you, because I am you, although not completely.
And where should I go?
—From The God Who Comes by Carlo Carretto
Amen.
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About the Author
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- From: bedeviant
- Name: Justin
- About Me: A religious deviant who enjoys coffee, reading theology, graphic design, and spending time with his wife while creatively exploring the riches of the Spirit of Christ.
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Comments (5)
Maybe I'm an oddball but I don't have disgust for the church. I mean, she breaks my heart at times but no more than I break my own heart. I know I'm part of the problem so any disgust I have in the church is disgust in myself as well. I understand what the other is saying though. Certainly there is both great frustration and joy placed on her just as there is with a spouse, child, friend, or self. I love the church and I desire greatly for her to be who she is meant to be.
First reaction: As is mentioned in Hebrews 12 "No discipline seems pleasant at the time it is given" (that would be one reason to hate the church if a person was thinking in the flesh and (if a believer) not walking in the Spirit."
Who likes to hear they've sinned and fallen short?
Yet we continue to go (many because we still see the need for our accountability to God and others, many because they may realize they're slipping away and want to reconcile/repent--other)
Parable of the Tares among the Wheat also fits in--how many of us would have tried ripping all the tares out right away, instead of letting the whole crop grow until the time of the harvest. The only perfect Church will be the one in Heaven. (not only because of the enemies in and outside of the true church here, but also because of the imperfections true Christians bring in pertaining to their "Romans 7-like" flesh vs. Spirit struggles they carry in to their respective folds.(No bashing intended here, just an observation)
In what context are you struggling with/ referencing "the Church"? Are you talking about the people, the teachings, the temperature in the place, the relationships, the building, the order of a worship service, the finances, the outreach work, or the color of the carpet?
maybe I don't understand this.......is this supposed to be God speaking? Because if it is....it isn't the God I serve.
How baffling you are, oh Church, and yet how I love you!.......the God I serve knows all and is not baffled by anything.
How you have made me suffer, and yet how much I owe you!......the God I serve doesn't owe the church anything....it is His church.
You have given me so much scandal and yet you have made me understand sanctity......oh yes....the God of all Holiness and Righteousness needs the church to help Him understand sanctity.........laughable!
How often I have wanted to shut the doors of my soul in your face, and how often I have prayed to die in the safety of your arms.............the God I serve already died once.......once and for all time. I am certain He is not praying to die again. Actually He is interceding not for Himself, but for the saints.
The church is certainly not without it's flaws........in fact it is without question as previously commented...full of tares. But Christ is coming back for a spotless bride..........those who are righteous through faith in Him. It is not about us church! It is about Him!
@JimBob - I second the point you make in the last 3 lines of your post! That sums up what should be focused on to a T!