That's Just the Way It Is

I was having a discussion with a friend here the other day about the status of the church in America. A lot of different things came up, but one of the things that came up that stuck with me was the comment, “It may not be all that good right now, but what can we say? That’s just the way things are right now.”

Maybe this is where our churches in America are right now. I don’t want to make it out as if I think that the churches in America are just completely wrong and there is nothing done right, because this is simply not true. There is a lot of good in our churches, just as there is a lot that we’ve done wrong. But when we say as a body that it’s just the way we are right now is self-defeating, but more than that it denies the power of Christ to work through his Bride to make it what he intended it to be.

Suppose that five years ago I had simply decided that the person I was then is simply the person I would be, and that’s just the way it is. I shudder to think of the person I would be today if I had not changed because of the work Christ has done in me today. I can see how I would have remained judgmental, with a very short temper. I would have remained in a very sad and lonely place. I thank God for the change He’s made in me through the power of His Son. I love the person that I am becoming now and the person He continues to shape me into being, because with each change and each day He makes me less of myself and more like Christ. Each day he sheds another piece of my worldly self and reveals more of Christ in me. I look forward to that day when I can just be a man of love and so far from the man I used to be.

But there is a critical piece to all this change. Confession is just as much a part of the healing process as anything else. I called my dad sometime ago and told him that I was thankful to him for teaching me how to apologize. Not just the form of it, but the necessity of it. That being a man isn’t simply about being strong and taking the lead, but being willing to realize when you’ve made your mistakes and putting away your pride. My pride should always be only in Christ. My dad taught me to confess when I’ve done wrong, and it’s one of the greatest lessons he gave me. But it is by far the easiest.

I know from experience.

I don’t just mean in confessing to God when I’ve messed up in my walk. But confessing to my brothers and sisters of my folly. I once lost my temper to my brothers in Christ because of a joke they wanted to pull on me. They meant it to be fun, and I lost my temper in such a terrible way. I lashed out not only during the instance, but for a day or so afterwards. After taking some time to cool down, I realized just how foolish I had been. I could have just sat there and confessed it to God of my anger. But I had done wrong to more than just God on that. I needed to confess my guilt to my brothers that I offended. It wasn’t easy to do it at all. It was, by far, one of the toughest things to do in my life. But it was necessary. And that’s where the true healing began.

As the Church I know there’s a lot we can still accomplish as we are. But I think we need to look over our actions. We need to realize how far we’ve strayed from God’s design for the Bride. When we’re willing to accept what we’ve done wrong, we need to be willing to make a public statement of humility and confession to the communities around us for the wrong we’ve done. When we are willing to put aside our pride, Christ will make his Bride what he wanted. The Bride will still have problems, as she always will being made up of humans. But no longer will she be resigned to let the wedding dress be torn and say, “That’s just the way it is.” She will be willing to say, “Christ can mend me once again.” Isn’t that the hope of salvation? If Christ can do it for the whole world, why can’t we believe he could do it for his Bride?

I don’t have any illusions that every church all across the world will make a public confession, but what a Church we could be… And that’s where the healing could really begin, for us and the world. When the Bride is willing to make the confession and be changed for the better by Christ, not only will we experience his love greater, but we will be able to show his love better.

That’s just the way it is.