The Other Side of the Coin

I beat up on my church experience yesterday but I don't want to leave the story there because it's not complete. The crazy thing about a church is that it will not be perfect. It's made up of people who, though made in God's image, are sinful. I think God knew this was going to happen but it didn't stop Him from creating the church.

When I was a teenager, I was at a friend's lakehouse and his dad told me "I can find God out here easier than I can at church." At the time, I didn't know what to say and, even today, I'm not sure I can give a good response to him because it's not about the church but his heart. Christ established the church with Peter. In Matthew 16, ¹⁷Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. ¹⁸And I tell you that you are Peter,^a]">[a] and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades^b]">[b] will not overcome it.^c]">[c] ¹⁹I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be^d]">[d] bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be^e]">[e] loosed in heaven."

Jesus said this to Peter, the same Peter who would later vehemently deny he knew the Christ, Peter the fiery cut-off-someone's-ear guy. Hmmm. Maybe, just maybe, even Jesus knew things wouldn't always run perfectly in the church because Jesus says "on this rock I will build my church" and surely He knew what Peter would later do. Should we think He expects we will be better than that?

What I have found at my church are some people who love the Lord our God deeply and intimately. I have found some people who will carry each other's burdens an extra mile. I have found people who love unconditionally, who bear with each other, who endure with each other and who believe in each other. I have found people who come together on Sunday morning to worship, fall at the feet of and give praise to the Lord.

For all the imperfections that exist, there is also something perfect in the church - the desire of God for us to come together and it is in that perfection that I have grown to love my church and look forward to the times we are together in worship and in fellowship.

Grace and peace to you.