Hello friends. This week we are discussing the messiness in church hurt. But talking about church hurt today does not include a situation where a church member has been physically or sexually abused, this should never be kept silent and it should be reported. That’s a very different church hurt than what we are discussing.
Church is not something that we go to. It is something that we are. The church are the people; People who are interlocked together in Christ. And, because the church is people, church can often be messy. It’s never as neat and organized as you and I would like it to be.
According to Romans 7, we all still struggle with the sin nature. Going to a church and being surprised to find sinful, unhealthy people is like going to the hospital and being surprised to find sick, unhealthy people. That is not to diminish the reality of those hurts or to excuse bad behavior. But the bottom line is that the church is filled with people. People are sinners, even Christians. And sometimes we still act like that.
And experiencing hurt from the local church can be painful. As fallen people, we say and do things that hurt instead of encourage. We can become embittered, angry, and unforgiving. Feelings get bruised, egos get hurt, We can be outcasted by church “friends” over a misunderstanding. Individuals can be overworked, overwhelmed and disregarded by the church. By the time we’re done with church, we can be left with one big mess. And then, sometimes in our flesh we want to look around for someone to blame.
To see that God used ordinary, broken human beings as vessels of his grace, and delighted in it, is awe-inspiring. Ephesians 3:10-11 tells us that God’s purpose in all this was to use the church to display his wisdom in its rich variety to all the unseen rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. This was his eternal plan, which he carried out through Christ Jesus, our Living King. Nothing has changed today. He is still using broken people, who often make profound messes, in even more profound ways for His glory.
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