For many of us, we have not seen the church as beautiful. We might like the people or we might not. We might like the worship or we might not. We might feel like the church meets our needs or when it does not meet our need we look for another. Yet, do we see the local and universal church as the most beautiful entity in the universe apart from God? Do we have glimpses of glory as we meet together to praise God and to learn how to walk with Him?
Throughout scripture, God declares the Church is the radiant bride of Christ. He declares His love for the church even as He works to purify His people so they might know Him better. He demonstrates incredible patience and mercy toward His often wayward people. He sends prophets and priests to keep His people on track, though they often failed in this task. The church is meant to be the "city on a hill" and "light to the world." It shines the light of God's grace and truth into the dark world. Light in the midst of darkness is beautiful.
So why do we often not see the church as a shining light of beauty? Why do we have difficulty seeing her beauty? I think there are several reasons. First, in this world the church is a mixed group. By that I mean that many within the church are redeemed individuals still struggling with sin. In addition, in a healthy church there will be those who are not yet redeemed struggling with sin. So, if we look closely we can see hypocrisy, doubt, anger, and every other sin under the sun. For many of us, this is a complete turn-off. How could "holy" people do such things!?
This leads to the second reason we have trouble seeing God's glory in the church. We have an incorrect understanding of God's glory in this world. As people we are learning/relearning how to walk in faith with and through Jesus. Faith is what changes us and teaches us to love. We are all so self-centered and turned in on ourselves! We should not be surprised when others hurt us or act in a selfish manner. We should not be surprised when we judge "church" by our feelings and immediate desires. Instead, we should be people who repent quickly of our sins and who forgive quickly the sins of others. Let us confess sin as sin, but not be shocked we live in a fallen world. The Church is truly the only place on earth where we can experience and extend grace that allows us to be real about our struggles, sins, and lack of faith.
So what is God's glory on earth? How about restoration of that which has been lost through sin and death? We should look for and enjoy seeing new people come to the freedom of the children of God (Romans 8). We should look for and enjoy seeing fellow believers grow deeper in love with God so that they can walk with Him in fuller ways. This means that we should look for and enjoy seeing love in action. The church is a place to learn how to love and how walk with Jesus by faith. We need to take our attention off of the sins of others or ourselves and place it instead on the love and faith that are expressed. So much of seeing God's glory is about having eyes to see it instead of focusing on sin and death!
Finally, the final reason (for today) as to why we have trouble seeing God's glory in the church has to deal with a living church versus a dead one. The church is beautiful when it works well. It is beautiful when it preaches and lives out the gospel. This means that it will be marked by Christ-centered worship that promotes true humility and authenticity. It will also be marked by outreach to a lost world through word and deed. Such action is the only hope for this world. Such action is beautiful and lovely. Such action is also rare in a day and age marked by self-concern and self-centeredness more than God-centered living working itself out in love for others.
May Grace be marked by the beauty of her King, the Lord Jesus Christ. May each of us worship and promote the beauty of the Church!
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