Good Morning Friends,
“The high priest carries the blood of animals
into the Most Holy Place as a sin offering, but the bodies are burned outside
the camp. And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people
holy through his own blood. Let us, then, go to him outside the camp, bearing
the disgrace he bore.” (Hebrews 13:11-3)
The church does not operate in the mainstream
of life. That should be obvious to all of us. The opinions of the church are
rarely sought when public policy is made. And when the church does offer its
opinions they are ridiculed or ignored.
The church is a great place for weddings. But
for most of the population the church isn’t listened to with advice for how to
prepare for marriage, have a healthy marriage, or stay married. The buildings
the church offers make wedding ceremonies special, but they are only marginally
connected to marriage.
The church is great for when someone gets
sick, too, and for funerals. Almost the whole world is willing to have people
pray for them when they, or someone they love, is sick. And there is something
comforting about having sacred words read by a religious professional at the
time of the death of a loved one. But when people are healthy and death seems
far away, the church isn’t often sought for help or guidance.
We shouldn’t be surprised that the church is
marginalized by our world, so was its Founder! He was mistreated by some and
ignored by many. But He clung to what He knew was right and what He knew was
real.
And the challenge for us is to keep clinging
to what is right and what is real, even when the world ignores it or laughs at
it or hates it. We’re following His example and receiving the same kind of
treatment by those around us.
His, by Grace,
Steve
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