May 28, Our, Not My

Today’s reading: Psalms 136-140

“He remembered us in our low estate His love endures forever. and freed us from our enemies. His love endures forever”  - Psalm 136:23-24.

This psalm was probably part of the Temple worship, for it sings of “our” and not “my.” There must be a time when you come together with God’s people when everyone celebrates their life in Christ that has set them free from sin and death. Yet it is easy to become disillusioned, even bitter, with the church, its members and leadership. That is never an excuse, however, to shun gathering for worship on the Lord’s Day or any other time when the church assembles. Paul had to address a dysfunctional church situation in Corinth, but his answer was not to stay home:

In the following directives I have no praise for you, for your meetings do more harm than good. In the first place, I hear that when you come together as a church, there are divisions among you, and to some extent I believe it. No doubt there have to be differences among you to show which of you have God’s approval. So then, when you come together, it is not the Lord’s Supper you eat, for when you are eating, some of you go ahead with your own private suppers. As a result, one person remains hungry and another gets drunk (1 Corinthians 11:17-21).

Have you allowed the church’s problems to keep you from attending? Can you see that these problems were present 2,000 years ago and the answer is not to withdraw, but to find a place where you can worship and celebrate your life in Christ as fellow believers?