I'm baffled. It seems almost like the phrase "loving church" has become a paradox.
If I want my money to be used in a loving manner, I have to avoid giving my money to the church and decide to use the money to love people on my own. This should not be. The church should be the spearhead of love in every community. However, loving actions from churches are nearly non-existent in my small midwestern town. I'm fearful that my town is more of the rule rather than an exception.
What should one do as a layman in such a situation? Is it inappropriate for me to give my money to a church that isn't majoring in loving actions? Is it inappropriate for me to withhold my offering and use it to meet people's needs around me?
I now see why lone ranger Christianity prospers in America. I see why books focus solely on one growing as an individual Christian. The church is in a sorry state. It seems to be one of the last places that vibrant Christianity can be lived out. (I know there are exceptions. I'm talking about the area I live in.) I want to give up on the church and just worry about living out the faith on my own. If I, a person who believes so much in the church, have arrived at this depressing conclusion, how much more so do people who don't even have a grasp on what the church can be.
If I want to be educated on the principles taught in Scripture, then the church is the place to be. If I want to live out those principles in a body of believers, it will just be one intellectual battle after another. I have to abandon the church and live out the Christian principles on my own.
If I want to be entertained by a worship service, then the church is the place to be. If want to worship God through service, I have to abandon the church and do it on my own.
If I want to be on a committee discussing what God wants done, then the church is the place to be. If I want to start doing the work that God wants done, I have to abandon the church and do it on my own.
I weep at this situation. I don't want this to be. My heart twists in agony. I see in my head what the church can be if we are faithful. I see what a town like Antwerp could be with a loving church in its midst. I see what our nation would look like if every town had a loving church among them. Lives would be changed. God would be glorified.
I fear that many churches are dangerously close to losing their lampstands.
Maybe I'm just depressed.
Watch out for the potholes.
