Be A Better Church

Good Morning!! There are a lot of churches today that, frankly, are very difficult to join. You have to go through a bunch of classes, pass a theology exam, and be interviewed by ten committees before they’ll consider you a member! Now I understand the motive behind much of this is to ensure their congregation has good doctrine. But as I look at the New Testament pattern for being received into fellowship, I find that people were accepted regardless of their spiritual status, even if they scarcely believed!
So they brought him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth. Jesus asked the boy's father, "How long has he been like this?" "From childhood," he answered.  "It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us." "'If you can'?" said Jesus. "Everything is possible for one who believes." Immediately the boy's father exclaimed, "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!"—Mark 9:20-24 (NIV)

 

When Jesus encountered the man in today’s passage whose son was demonized, he didn’t require the man to have his theology all worked out. Jesus used that scintilla of faith to heal the boy. A little bit of faith was enough, even when some unbelief was still present! The church of Jesus Christ is to minister to people at the point of their need. It’s not a sacred society for snubbing sinners. It exists to help the hurting and aid the broken.

 

Be the church God intends,...by inviting all people to know Christ, and receiving them into fellowship when they express even the desire for faith!

---

Father, it only by Your grace that any of us have come to faith. Let us now not withhold that same grace from others. If we can't find acceptance from the church,...then where? Amen.

"The liberating truth of Christianity is that God meets us where we are, takes us as we are,...and loves us too much to leave us there."