Not In My Church!

 

'For I hunger and you give Me to eat' I thirst and you give Me drink; a stranger was I and you took Me in; naked and you clothed Me; infirm am I and you visit Me; in jail was I and you come to Me.'  "Then the just will be answering Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we perceive Thee hungering and nourish Thee, or thirsting and we give Thee drink?  And when did we perceive Thee a stranger and take Thee in, or naked and we clothed Thee?  Now when did we perceive Thee infirm, or in jail, and we came to Thee?'  "And answering, the King shall be declaring to them, 'Verily, I am saying to you, in as much as you do it to one of these, the least of My brethren, you do it to Me.'

Matthew 25: 35-40, Concordant New Testament 

It seems that we Christians have gotten the true meaning of the church confused over the years.  Even today, our brick and mortar church building fill up each Sunday with those who see themselves as 'Gods people.'  They, and only they, are blessed enough to be referred to as the church.  Well, believe it or not, I think that Jesus would have something different to say about that.  See, the church has never been a church of believers, but the body of Christ Jesus as a whole.  As we sit in our pews each Sunday, we are the body of Christ.  It is Jesus Himself who sits at the head of His church {Colossians 1:18}.  I mention this for one simple reason, because the church of Jesus has over the years lost its way.  The church as we know it has forgotten the meaning of the parable of Jesus we find in Matthew 25.  The parable where Jesus speaks of Himself as destitute, hungry and in prison.  Now, you may ask yourself, when was Jesus in jail?  He wasn't, but as He did many times to explain His lessons, He used metaphors and parables.  Why would Jesus feel the need to portray Himself as unwanted and destitute?  Because, as He explained to those who were listening, "As you do it to the least of My brethren, you do it to Me" {Matthew 25:40}.  Now, that may be a well known verse to many modern Christians, but knowing a verse and putting it into practice are two entirely different things.  I can recall being in church one Sunday morning while a gay rights protest was taking place outside the building.  These protestors believed, correctly, that many so called Christians did not want them around.  That day, I heard more than one church member proclaim, "Not in my church!"  Your church, really?  One term that I hear bantered around in Christianity every now and then is the term "unchurched."  For the longest time I saw this as referring to those who for one reason or another chose not to go to church.  No, I believe that the unchurched are those individuals whom we DON'T WANT within the four walls of our churches.  The homeless, those with alternative lifestyles and those struggling with addictions of one substance or another.  Here in Portland, Oregon, there is a street mission in our downtown area known as the Union Gospel Mission.  This is where you will surely find the unchurched, if you bother to look.  

And He is the head of the body, the ecclesia, Who is sovereign, firstborn from among the dead, that in all He may be becoming first. 

Colossians 1: 18, Concordant New Testament 

In my employment, I am usually subjected each day to the effects of the homeless population of our city.  The trash, needles and human waste are simply a normal part of our daily duties.  For this reason, I came to dislike the homeless.  Yes, I am a Christian and I didn't like the homeless, go figure.  Then I met Heather.  She was a homeless young lady I came across not too long ago who was struggling with addiction and life on the street.  In that moment, instead of approaching her with anger for her condition, something in my heart compelled me to see the human side of this young lady.  Her story touched me, she wanted to see her family again but not in the way she was living.  Before my job took me away, I prayed with Heather that she would find the healing she needed.  I can guarantee that Heather was part of the unchurched of our society.  These are the people who are crying out to be accepted by others.  Traditionally, the local church has been seen as a haven for those who are down and out.  It's the church where people go to when they have nowhere else to turn.  Maybe it's the expectation that Christians will spread the mercy of the Lord.  In a perfect church, that would be the case.  In a church seeing Christ Jesus as the head of the body of believers, there would be refuge for the unchurched and unwanted.  Can you imagine a closet drunk or abuser walking into a church one Sunday morning and hearing Jesus proclaim, 'NOT IN MY CHURCH!'  Of course, that would never happen, but that is what we as believers are doing to the body of Christ.  I guess there really is no perfect church.  

For ritual clean and undefiled with God the Father is this; to be visiting the bereaved and widowed in their affliction, to be keeping oneself unspotted from the world. 

James 1: 27, Concordant New Testament 

~Scott~