Title [3.9] The Church We Need to Restore
Contents of the church
(Ephesians 2:11-13; 4:25-32)
Why do we have to feel conflicts in our religious life and not feel satisfied with the church? Because “the church is still under construction”. One of our misconceptions is that “the church is the perfect heaven”. But there is no such church in the world. Just as we mature through faith, the church matures and grows along with our growth.
So how should we understand the church?
The church is a “hospital”. Hospitals are places where sick people gather. The church is the gathering place of the sick, the proud, the bloody, the hurt, and the people who hurt. A good hospital is full of patients. And get healed. Likewise, a good church is crowded with many people. It's full of sick people here and there. And being healed. The time when we can be completely healed is when we enter into the kingdom of the Lord. So don't be surprised that there are unobtrusive people and environments around us. It is rather natural. They are now being healed by God's grace.
So how can it be treated?
As it says in 4:32, “Be kind to one another, have compassion, forgive one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” The forgiveness of Christ's cross must be among us. And depending on the forgiveness of the cross, we must be able to look at each other with pity and forgive each other.
The church is not a theater to behold. Also, the church is not an academy that fills only the parts I need. The church is a family where the forgiveness of the cross is alive. So, only when we can have compassion for each other and accept each other can we become perfect.