I have a hard time loving the church when I expect it to be perfect. I have a hard time serving my sisters and brothers in Christ when I don't make allowances for each other's faults. How can I love and serve a messy group of people called the church? How can I love and serve people in the church who may misunderstand or misjudge my struggles with OCD, HVS, and depression?
Yet I have developed a love for the church over the years. Recently I found myself smiling at different individuals at my church just because I enjoyed them. They weren't perfect people, but I had a sense of love and even a tender affection for them. I found myself appreciating that they, along with me, are people perfectly loved by God even though we all fall far short of perfection. This love for others has not come from my own heart, but from God's love and power that has been changing me.
"...Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her..." (Ephesians 5:25)
"This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins." (1 John 4:10)
"But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8)
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