Community Life

For those who have been wounded by the church the last thing they want to do is return. Or those who have struggled with various sins or addictions that after repeated failure, it leads to a sense of censure. Why would one roll out the red carpet and welcome the person at the front door (again and again)? Especially when one or two members had said hurtful or spiteful things that caused the person to never want to come back.

No matter how much we want to avoid the community of believers (there are some gatherings you should avoid because they are not in agreement with sound doctrine and/or their practices are not Biblical) God tells us not to neglect the assembly of believers (Hebrews 10:25).

Today in the men's ministry a man spoke of his struggle with cancer, HIV and diabetes. He said that at one point he was so ill from one dose of chemo that his weight dropped from 185 to 100 lbs. Then he said something very profound yet in a simple way it could almost be missed. The Lord had told Him to return to church. He resisted and stayed away. Finally, he got up one morning and headed for church. At first he was embarrassed at his appearance which he described as looking like a flag pole with clothes flying from it. Once inside the church, he was warmly greeted and a number of people expressed their concern over his health. Soon afterwards, he returned to normal weight, started working out and eating better.

I believe he came back to life again because he return to where the life of Christ flows in a body well connected to each other. The Scripture speaking of Christ says, "From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work." (Ephesians 4:16, NIV).

Yes, the body of Christ can be a source of pain and difficulty but for those who are willing to get up and walk through the doors one more time, the Lord has provision waiting in what might be the hardest place. It takes humility and strength only God can supply. Even if things don't always turn out the way it should be, beloved, God will honor His word because you care to stay connected to His body.