Have you been wounded in church? (2)

Author Sherry Surratt notes that when Jesus promised to build His church, “[He] wasn’t just talking about the bricks or wood that form a…building, but He was talking about building His church of…ordinary, human people who are imperfect…broken and [who] bring their messy lives…with them every time they walk through the door. This is what Christ died for…He died for people – for His church…a group of people, led by people, and not a single one of us is perfect. We’re a broken bunch who hopefully recognize our brokenness and acknowledge that Jesus is the only fix…No matter how long we’ve been in the church, we never reach perfection…we’ll have to work at it every day. We’ll come face-to-face with our human side every morning when we wake up, and…when we do, we’ll bump up against each other and we’ll get hurt. Our natural tendency is to steer clear of what hurts us…So when we encounter gossip aimed at us or witness hatred or hypocrisy in our fellow churchgoers or even our pastors, it’s natural to think about walking away. But to do this is to separate ourselves from something that God built for us to use for our good…The Bible never says other people aren’t going to wound [us]…What [it] does teach…is that it doesn’t help to just sit in hurt and feel sorry for [ourselves] (see Matthew 5:24). God’s Word warns [us] not to let bitterness set in (see Hebrews 12:15). This has nothing to do with pretending something didn’t happen. It has everything to do with being honest…admitting when our spirit is crushed and leaving revenge in the hands of God.”