There's one thing that hurts my heart above many other things. Hear me, there are many things that break my heart but one thing I mourn over and it's this:
Christians who have believed the lie that their faith is better served in isolation and as a private matter far away from church. Jesus never kept his faith to himself nor did he ever practice it in isolation.
So if he didn't, then why are we?
I get it, being in healthy community can be really hard. It can be really painful.
People are messy. Families are messy. And so church is messy.
Church is about being a family. It's a beautiful place where people who you may never choose to be friends decide to be family. It's a place where people walk through highs and lows together and are committed to each other in a way that the world does not commit to people. Jesus walked through messy relationships with those who ultimately brought his harm. If he can stay that committed to loving his neighbour in community through the hardest challenges, can't we keep showing up for our community too?
"But," I hear you say, "churches hurt people and so I'm better off exploring my faith in a place that's safe away from the possibility of getting hurt." I get it. You've been hurt. I've been hurt. Your friend has been hurt. Churches don't hurt people. People hurt people.
Church done right builds people up, loves people, cares for their communities, runs to those who are hurting with arms open wide. It's not the church that hurt you. It's the broken people in those churches who hurt you.
"But," I hear you say, "isn't it better then to not be in those churches if the people within them keep hurting me?" I get it. We want to run away from the things that hurt. But we were never meant to deal with our pain alone. Where will you run to when your heart hurts and you need healing? Chances are, if you're a Christian you'll run to another Christian for help or prayer because no one understands church hurt more than your fellow believers. So aren't you really just practicing church in that moment just outside of a church building? You're practicing what church is: community that builds each other up.
"But," I hear you say, "I don't run to other Christians. I've kind of given up on Christians entirely because they just cause me too much pain." I know. Those wounds are deep. But you don't give up on going to the doctor because one of them got it wrong. You don't give up on all of your friends just because one of them hurt you. You don't dismiss your entire family because one of them turned their back. Don't throw out the whole thing because of the one person or small group of people who embittered you.
Being in community is a really hard place to be. It requires commitment we sometimes don't want to give. It refines us in ways we need but don't like. It convicts us when we're being selfish. Choosing to stay out of the community of the church is choosing to stay in a place where only you can feed your growth and that was never the plan for you.
Jesus loved community. God loves his church. We were made for community and the church is the only way we can truly experience the fullness of God's love and his presence in the world.
Choose to return. Choose to invest in a family. Choose to be that safe space in a community that someone else might need. There is a church out there that needs you, that needs what only you can give. Don't keep your amazing gifts and your unique talents to yourself. There is a place out there with a you shaped hole that is just waiting for you to come home.
