1 post tagged “sinners”
A friend the other day challenged me that if I really was interested in making disciples, I'd get out of the church-business. (That's what a pastor does, you know: he's in the church business.) Why? My friend was convinced that he had never seen a disciple made in all his years in the church. So he's stopped going and does "church" differently. "The Church (big "C") ," said he, is "hopelessly lost."
I like my friend. Few people have the passion and sharpened focus he seems to have. But I'm not that discouraged. I thought of a poem and song by an artist I appreciate, who sends this message to the Church. As the poem develops, the message is on the lips of a faithful pastor:
Cheer up church
You're worse off than you think
Cheer up church
You're standing at the brink
Don't despair, do not fear, grace is near.
I guess in a way my friend is right. There is no hope for the Church. None but Jesus.
After all, Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. Did He take a pristine virginal people, or a wandering whore to be His Bride? The healthy do not need a physician; the holy do not need a priest. The Church is His Body; He gave Himself up for Her. So will I.
