An Invitation to the Imperfect

with much thanks to Rev. John Strother

Thursday, July 20, 2023

Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.”  Matthew 11:28

Hello I’m the body of Christ, but you may know me by my other name - Church.

I'm sure you've heard a lot about me. I have no shortage of critics. Perhaps you have heard that I am...Boring, Shallow, Irrelevant, A waste of time

Maybe you've heard that I am full of:

Hypocrites, Greedy people, The self-righteous

Maybe you have visited me before and discovered:

Music you didn’t like, Passionless singing, Dry preaching, Rude congregants

Maybe you needed me and I was: Too busy, Too "righteous", Too broke, Too blind

Maybe you joined me and found I was:  Distant, Demanding, Dull, Preoccupied

Maybe you tried to serve in me but were caught off guard by:

Business meetings, Committees, Interpersonal Conflicts, Bureaucracy

Maybe you left and were surprised that nobody:

Called, Cared, Or seemed to notice, And invite you back

Perhaps your experience has driven you to:

Speak negatively of me, Swear to never come back to me,                                   Proclaim that no one needs me,

Believe you're better off without me

If this is true, I have something to say to you:

I'm sorry, I was wrong, I blew it,

I made a huge mistake

But remember, I never said my name was:

Perfect, Flawless, Complete, Arrived

 

My name is church. Or, more accurately, the Body of Christ.  At my best I welcome the:  Hypocrite, Dry, Self-righteous, Shallow

I also welcome the Sincere, Passionate, Forgiving, Selfless

I cannot shut my doors to the people who make you:

Angry, Uncomfortable, Impatient, Self-conscious

But I would remind you that we couldn't always worship in the same room

because of division between:  Gentiles, Jews, Men, Women

In order for us to all worship in the same room Christ was:

Shamed, Beaten, Killed, Resurrected

Which is far worse than being:  Bored, Uncomfortable, Embarrassed, Ignored

So why not come back to church and let all of these other sojourners:

Challenge you, Sharpen you, Strengthen you, Humble you

I can't promise you that the people will be great. This is church. It's not:

Heaven, Paradise, Beulah Land, The Celestial city or whatever else you might call the Great Beyond

But do come back, or join us for the first time.

God wants you here.  The body needs you here. 

The world needs your witness.  You belong here.

Hello, my name is church.

I miss you.    I love you.     I'm sorry.      Can't wait to see you.

For You Today 

This is evangelism, reconciliation between siblings, and the humility Christ offered to each of us.  This is what the church (all of us) needs to offer to the world today.

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!

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Title Image:  via Pixabay.com   Images without citation are in public domain.   Unless noted, Scripture quoted from NLT^©