Is the Church really Beautiful?

It appears to me that the Church has a huge image crisis.  While scripture declares the Church as the radiant bride of Christ, we often see her as an accessory to true faith.  Some of us have had good experiences with the church, while many others have had horrible experiences.  Some of us have experienced a church that meets our needs and wants, while others have shopped around for a church that "fits" until we have almost given up the search.

Why have so few of us seen the local and universal Church as the most beautiful entity in the universe apart from God?  Why do we not get more glimpses of glory as we meet together in community to praise God and to learn how to walk with Him?  So why do we often not see the church as a shining light of beauty?  Why do we have difficulty seeing her beauty?  While each of us have had different experiences, I believe there are several major reasons why we often do not see the Church as beautiful. 

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 through the Church on this fallen 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 to 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, a third reason 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 our Church be marked by the beauty of her King, the Lord Jesus Christ.  May each of us worship together in community and promote the beauty of the Church!