"I've got no problems with Jesus. It's the church that I can't stand."

Have you ever heard someone say this, "I've got no problems with Jesus.  It's the church that I can't stand."?  Truthfully, I've said it myself before.  There's something that has been spreading in our generation (Millenials and Gen Xer's), for some time now.  We look at how the church was when we were growing up and how the adults who filled it acted and we say, "No way!  I'm not doing that again!"  So as we grow up we depart from what we know as "the church".  Some of us have left and never come back.  Some of us wanted to leave, but just didn't have the moxy to do it.  Some of us left, came back, and left again.  Some of us left, came back, and have just continued to beat her to death.  Her meaning the church.  Then there are others who have treated her the way she was presented to be treated.

Jesus says in John 3:29, "The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete."

So we know that the bridegroom is Jesus and the bride is His church.  So let me ask you this, why beat her up?  Why rip her apart?  Why tear her down?  Here's something else I've heard..."I love the church, but I just don't like the people in it."  Guess what, they ARE part of the church too.  Jesus says that we cannot love him and not love the church. 

There are lots of people who love the church, but don't love Jesus too.  That's another topic for another day.  But for today, my question to you is, do you love the church?  The bride belongs to the bridegroom.  So if you are filled with joy when you hear His voice, then love His bride.

Derek Webb sings a song about this that I think you should take a listen to.  Here it is...

The Church by Derek Webb

My prayer is that if you've been loving on Jesus and not on the church that you would start loving on her too.  She needs us to love her.  Even when you think she's not at her best, because that's when she needs us the most.

Chris