Grieved

I just ran across a post on Facebook about a guy who has decided he is not a Christian and has left the church.  Honestly, my heart is so grieved.  It's not anger, it's so much more than that.  It's pain.  I hurt because so many have found the church to be so lacking in the grace and love of God.  While I want to understand them I simply struggle to see how people cannot see all of the good in HIS church.

The church is flawed, greatly so, because it is made up of humans like me that fall so short of His glory.  Yet, isn't that the story of Jesus?  That He can take such imperfect vessels like me and use them to bring His love and power to those in need. 

If that hasn't been your experience then maybe you aren't looking in the right places.  There are some bad churches out there. There are some selfish pastors and Christians out there, but there are so many people who honestly love God and the world He has created out there. 

I think that too often people just see what they want, OR EXPECT to see.  I was a pastor for 15 years. In that 15 years I encountered some really unChrist-like Christians, quite a few to be honest.  (I fit that bill too often myself.)  But I chose not to dwell on that; I chose to see the good in people.  I chose to see that in most of the people I encountered that if you could see past the weakness of their flesh, there was love. In some I had to look REALLY  deep, and in a few I never could see it.  But in most there was this true desire to know and love Jesus and to really be like Him.

Just today I heard from a good friend who is a pastor.  He pastors a relatively small church and I'm sure he does not make a lot of money. Yet, this man believes in what I have dedicated my life to.  He believes that Christ is the answer.  He believes that when people encounter the love of Christ their lives are transformed.  He also believes, as I do, that without Christ people are missing their very purpose for living.  He believes this so much that he made a very generous and sacrificial commitment to help us spread everywhere that incredible love of Christ.  He's going to have to make some sacrifices to keep his commitment to us, but he does it because he wants others to experience the incredible love of Christ that he has encountered.  In earthly terms he gains nothing by this commitment.  Few if any will ever know he even does it.  But he does it out of conviction and love.

I want to be honest with you, this man is not the exception. There are so many Christians who make sacrifices everyday without seeking attention or accolades; they just do it because they are motivated by love.

My original intent was to go on and share about what I think is wrong with the church and why I think some have come to the conclusions that the young man on FB has come to.   But you know what? There are plenty of people out there pointing out what is wrong with the church.  To my Christian friends I just want to encourage you to keep on believing.  Don't look for the  flaws.  Don't be part of the problem.  Resolve every day to allow the aroma of Christ to be strong in your life.  And when you encounter those who have lost faith in Christianity don't just push them away...embrace them with the love of Christ and try to show them there is more than they have experienced.

To those who are disillusioned with the church and Christianity I just want to challenge you to look a little deeper.  I'm sorry for the failures of the church. I'm sorry for the times I have been part of the problem.  But if you'll look a little deeper  you will find some very special people there who really love Jesus and really do reflect His values!