A beautiful bride would be so attractive to everyone that Christ's name would be famous and praised around this world. Jesus attracted people with messed up lives to Him.
The Church doesn't... I don't.
Why?
I believe the actions of the "Church" have given Christ's name the reputation of being judgemental, legalistic, prideful, and cliquish- basically religious. Everything Christ wasn't.
I can't blame the world for this sad perception of a Jesus that they have never met. I can blame the "Christians" who continue to misrepresent Him and the "Christian" leaders who allow it.
It is time for the Bride of Jesus to start to represent what He stood for and to begin to peel away the layers of dirt that we have covered Him in.
It is pointless for me to complain about history and not try to change the future.
The world (and many churches) raise us to believe some people are better than others and some people are like us and some aren't.
People who claim they are Christian must shake these prejudices. How? Spend more time in the presence of Christ than in the presence of earthly influences.
And then we must actively seek ways to love people who are filthy and show them that Christ does not reject them because of their past sin... and neither do we.
The global Church should flock to opportunities to love the unloved. Race to clothe the poor. Overwhelm the hungry with food.
It is going to take a lot of time and generations to clean off the stigma. But we can. Imagine a Church that is known for love- the way the Bible says it should be. The non-Christians would take notice. Other religions would take notice. The media would tell the story. And the governments would thank us.
This is the role that the Church is meant to have. Let's get started.
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