So I don’t know what it is, either God speaks to me on nights where I take Nyquil or I have attributed many a blog to Him instead of the Nyquil. Either way, here’s another. At the end you decide who its from. By the title some of you are already ready to assume that it is about one of my kids at the hospital, but no. My kids at the hospital are definitely the societal rejects and deviants, that’s why I love them. Devil Child is us.
I was writing a letter to a friend and I was discussing our similar run ins with the church and how much pain and bitterness they had caused. The bitterness maybe more so me than my friend. As I was writing it I started talking about how I wanted to create my own church and design a relevant cutting edge church. Nothing wrong with that, except, that as I started to write I saw my attitude towards the church now. God moves don’t get me wrong He moves in churches of 50 in backwoods Arkansas where people are sleeping with there cousins. But this is the thought that struck me, isn’t the church Gods bride. And as I started playing with that thought I realized I felt like the red headed stepchild of the church, not the first time in my life. And I started thinking, if I can’t love Gods bride like He does, can I really love Him fully! As well as if I cant love His bride now how could I even imagine contributing to His bride with my own slanted view of what His bride is. As I started thinking this I felt like the un-grateful, spoiled brat that I am. Has it ever struck us that maybe if God in all His infinite wisdom, might and power could love the church, His bride, then we could to, no matter what. Maybe its time for some of us to recognize that we are being devil children. Not necessarily the exact meaning but maybe, for those breading divisive words with the poison spit and spewed by some of us on His bride. Or are we just sitting in the pew at the wedding hoping the bride trips down the stairs for a bit of comic relief because that’s all we think the church is good for. What if, that’s right here come the what ifs. WHAT IF, we started realizing we are ushering in the re-designed bride of Christ. And no matter what we say about creating a new church, every idea we have is based on the foundation built by the church in existence now. Were not giving God a new bride were giving her a makeover. But, if we don’t love the bride from the start what will keep us from un-knowingly putting blue eye shadow all over along with dark lipstick and big bangs. Thinking the whole time we are doing God a favor. When in fact our attitude has us so twisted we can’t see past our own nose. But, honestly, how do you love the groom and not the bride. I didn’t realize we were called to be picky, God wasn’t picky with us. Not to mention the stress felt in churches worldwide by the old letting go for the new. What if us the new generation of the church had an attitude that was respectful and passionate of the old recognizing strength in wisdom. Wouldn’t that make the old more open to the make over of the Bride of Christ.
I guess my thoughts could be summed up like this. If we don’t ever get over our own bitterness, resentment and disillusionment in the church. We will never see what God loves so dearly about His bride. Making it almost impossible to see how His love really works. And when we really think about it who hurt us, the church or people in the church. Who is Gods bride, the political and physical existence of the church or the people of the church who make up His bride. Its time we start to love them both, only then can we experience the full joy in loving like God does.