For many of us, Sundays were once the days of the weeks where we purposed to have no purpose. We would sleep as late as we could and then lounge from one place to the other with ne’er a thought which did not seek comfort and ease and leisure. If there was any motivation at all it was toward recreation and entertainment while worshiping God was something that we did not even notice as a lingering possibility. Yet, when Calvary stormed our hearts and we were brought to life by unsought grace, everything changed for us. Our appetites were made new along with our aspirations. We exited ourselves and were blessed to be ushered into something larger, a thing so peculiarly great that, to this very day, we cannot quite explain how and why it is so important to us. It is not merely that we fell in love with Christ and now find ourselves eager to worship Him. No, we have discovered something in addition which seems as a treasure to us. This thing is greatly missed by us when we are prevented from its joy. This thing is something we will never be without from now until the realities of glory find us. This thing will be made visible in hundreds of thousands of places on every continent today. What is this?
We have discovered the joy and love and beauty of Christ’s church. This eternal fraternity has left us with our individuality while swallowing our independence. Our story no longer begins and ends with ourselves. We are a small part of a much larger story – the story of God’s glorious redemption. We see a glimpse of its beauty in the visible church which gathers today.
The church as we see it is imperfect as has always been the case. If you are given to throwing stones then you will have many large targets to ting if you aim at the visible church today. Laziness, lovelessness, pride, prejudice, hypocrisy, greed, meaningless crusades and outright deception can be found among those who name the name of Jesus Christ. Whether a local gathering is comprised of twenty or ten-thousand professing saints, there will certainly be cause for discouragement if you seek it out. Yet is there not also imported beauty from Heaven’s shores? Where else will you find such sacrificial love? Eternal truths can be located nowhere outside of the bride of Jesus Christ. Though it often appears wounded and gasping, Christ Himself declared emphatically that all of Hell would never be able to conquer His called-out-ones. It is the church that feeds the poor, clothes the naked, rescues the afflicted, enlightens the ignorant, carries the gospel-banner, reveals the redemptive nature of God and functions as the hands of Christ. Whether Methodist or Charismatic, Baptist or Presbyterian, Lutheran or Nazarene…the church of God is the living and enduring reflection of His being in the world today. Have you stopped recently and thanked Him for allowing you to partake of this inestimable privilege?
“God, grant us as Your children today to have greatly appreciative hearts. Help us attend local gatheirngs today with souls attuned to your worthiness to be worshiped. Empower our songs to be robust alongside of our prayers to You. As we delight in Your perfection please assist us to bear with one another’s imperfections as those near us endure our own. Let us see in every single component which falls short of Your glory our own need to patiently wait as we hunger for complete righteousness in our own lives. Purge us from pride and pettiness, O God! Blind us to the faults of others which might encourage us to be sidetracked from our own sins from which we still need deliverance. God, grace us with confidence that You who have begun a good work in Your children will complete it at the day of Christ’s appearing. Help us to love any good that we find today as we gather with Your other children. Empower us to find them as precious as You find them; remind us that sanctification is well under way but not nearly complete in them…in us. In every instance wherein a brother or sister may fail us, make us like You in that we will relentlessly love them, even delight in them, as You continue Your hidden and constant work of making them like Jesus. God, today is about You. Help us to honor You by aggressively loving what You love. You love Your children, O God. Give us this same thing without measure so that we always remember that we have but one Father. We are sons. We are daughters. We are spiritual siblings through all the coming ages. Thank You for making this so.”
amen-and amen! lets consider what we can do for the body of christ and not so much as what we can get from it- we are doers!!!!