Subject: Where does membership come from? |
Bible Note: Hi, Jal! I understand exactly what you are saying… part of the problem is that the Church has become a place of congregation, as common as the mall or any other public environment: a place where people show up, drop their tithes, do some sing-a-long, throw in some Amens, meet their acquaintances, get some “feel-good” emotions and… viola, they have fulfilled their daily/weekly/monthly Christian obligations! What we do individually matters to God--not what others do or do not do. Christ command to Peter was a general command to all disciples: “build my Church!”--paraphrased. Our task, as Christians, is not to sample every thing there is and accept certain things while rejecting others… Our task is to be faithful to Christ! Part of that fidelity can be demonstrated by enlightening the Church, correcting the errors that it may have, and uniting the Church--all of these task require love, humility and patience. Wondering from place to place will not accomplish this! Falling for whatever new doctrine that emerges will only accomplish more schism of the Body! It is your task, as that of every single Christian, not to find and point out the faults in the Church, but to work to eradicate them once found! And, to just dismantle the Church is definitely not the answer! Do not worry about you giving a thousand percent when others seem to just be parasites and leeches… our calling is to give a thousand percent, or 10 percent if that is all we are able to give (time, labor, financial support…), to the Lord without regards to anyone else’s offerings (check out the parable of the laborers and the vineyard--Matthew 20:1-16). Labor to build the Church and do not allow Satan to use the weaknesses of others to rob you of the beauty of serving our Lord, Jesus Christ. Maran atha! Angel |