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there is irony that exists in the church. go figure.
truth be told, there are many ironies and disconnects within the framework of the local church. such is life with imperfect people in an imperfect world.
one of those ironies strikes at the core of what we are as people of faith and what god has called us to be as a family of faith.
as broken, messed up, imperfect, sinful people, we…more than anyone else on the planet…should understand the need for acceptance and understanding. we…more than anyone else on the planet…should understand the yearning for love and the need for grace. we…more than anyone else on the planet…should comprehend the lunacy of intolerance and judgment.
for without the undeserved and unearned mercy of god, we are destined to emptiness and separation.
where else but the church should the social outcast be welcomed? where else but the church should the financially destitute find understanding? where else but the church should the illegal find kinship (with those who are aliens, themselves)? where else but the church should the homosexual find true compassion? where else but the church should the drug addict find healthy companionship? where else but the church should the runaway find safety? where else but the church should the lonely find friendship? where else but the church should the slut find unconditional relationships? where else but the church should the racist be offered patience? where else but the church should the welfare recipient not be judged? where else but the church should a rich man be treated just like everyone else? where else but the church can felons hope to find a fresh start? where else but the church should different opinions co-exist in harmony? where else but the church should dysfunctional find sanctuary? where else but the church should prideful, arrogant people be treated with humility and respect? where else but the church should hurt, empty, confused, and sinful people be treated not according to what they deserve, but simply according to what they really need?
so here’s the irony: one of the reasons (certainly not the only reason) that the church is seldom the place of warm, spiritual asylum that it needs to be for the marginalized of our world, is because we are so deeply aware of right and wrong.
in our awareness and judgment of the wrongness that people find themselves in, we quickly forget that no one is righteous…no one is perfect…no one is good enough. we all fall incredibly short of god’s ideal. we are all woefully deficient in matters of personal holiness and sanctified living.
my judgment of the church is that we put up walls to alienate certain kinds of people…certain kinds of wrong people… while we are hypocritically avoiding the reality of the man in the mirror.
shame on us.
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