Why I Love The Church: Part Six

It was one of those moments that take your breath away and makes an indelible imprint on your memory.  As a third grader I looked up to my older brother, Brian; he was in the fourth grade.  Brian has an ability to make friends with everyone; he’s just likable.  It has always been that way, and as the youngest in the family I was always following him around.  I saw his friends as my friends.

            

He was on his way to meet some of those friends and, as usual, I was tagging along.  I can’t remember what made that day different, or what I did that annoyed him any more than any other day, but he turned to me and said, “Paul, go find your own friends,” and he walked off.  I stood there and was at a loss.  It made me feel small, useless, and a burden.  The years have passed and I have made my own friends, but that moment has stayed with me.  It has helped me to see that the world can be harsh.  My brother still tells me I need to get over it, and we laugh at the memory. 

            

There is another memory, however.  I have not been known for my fashion sense.  In fact I look my best when my wife buys my clothes.  When I was in the 9^th grade I owned horses and enjoyed wearing western apparel, and at that time I was rather fond of corduroy pants with a particular high wasted corduroy jacket.  My brother and I were in the mall together when I decided to purchase a new jacket.  He accompanied me into the store and waited patiently as I tried on different sizes.  After watching me for a while the clerk came over and made the comment, “You know, no one wears those anymore, they aren’t very cool.”  It made me feel small and useless, but Brian stepped up and looked at the guy and told him, “If my brother likes it, then it is cool.”  Now, he didn’t think the jacket was cool, but in that moment he honored me and made me feel important.

            

The world is full of people who want you to conform to their image and is quick to let you know if you don’t.  Non-conformity is dissuaded and people treat you differently if don’t fit in, and this is true for con-conformists as well.  You can tell when the world infiltrates the church, because it begins to judge people for not conforming to the socio-economic, racial, and cultural irrelevancies.  Don’t get me wrong Christians are to conform to the image of Christ.  There are things that we need to leave behind for the sake of the gospel, but those parameters are set by Christ.  When the Church is functioning the way God intends there are no divisions based on race, wealth, status, national identity, or fashion sense; each person is honored.

1Cor 12:24-26 “But God has so composed the body, giving more abundant honor to that member which lacked, 25 so that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. 26 And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.”

I love the church because it is the body of Christ where each member has as much value as any other, and when one hurts or rejoices the rest respond in kind.  I’m just saying… (Continued).