Church, The good, the bad and the ugly

Oftentimes, especially in the past, I've gotten very cynical about the Church as a whole.  There are so many abuses committed behind closed doors, so many scandals, so many cover ups.  Add to that how many times the Church is no different than the culture around her and it's tough to stay positive about her.

But there is beauty within her.  In spite of all her misgivings, Christ loves her and calls her to Himself.  The Church is the Bride of Christ.  I used to bad mouth her and still struggle doing that sometimes.  Then I remind myself, if someone spoke about my bride that way I'd be irate with them.  Probably not a good idea therefore to bad mouth Christ's Bride.

We're given a picture I believe in the Old Testament of how Christ views His bride now perhaps.  In the Old Testament it's a metaphor for how God views the Israelites but I think it applies to the New Testament Church as well.  A prophet is told to marry a prostitute.  He does and doesn't hold her past against her.  Then she cheats on him and runs away and he's told to go and get her again.  I don't know of too many people who would do that, but God says that's how He treats His people the Israelites.  He forgives them of their many sins and buys them back and pursues them.  He does it again and again and again.

Like the news in general, our minds are attracted to the negative, to the worse things that happen in churches.  There is good news though.  People are introduced to Christ and He saves them.  Churches put up tiny home villages in their parking lots.  Churches take the money they were going to spend on advertising campaigns for Easter and instead spend it on forgiving people's medical debts.  Those were two stories I read yesterday that about made me cheer out loud.  Churches send out missionaries around the world who do good work and help the poorest of the poor.  Churches send people on short term trips around the world to encourage missionaries and help them serve the local people in different countries.  Not all missionaries are great btw, I know that full well as there have been recent scandals in that area too.

The Church should be a reflection of Christ.  Oftentimes it isn't but man is She beautiful when she is.  If you've been disappointed in the Church which most people have if they've been around a while, I pray you give Her another chance and realize the Church is more like a hospital of sick people taking care of other sick people.