Romans 12:5 (ESV)
“So we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.”
Over the last few years, I’ve been battling with skepticism. Skepticism that mainly revolves around going to church, fellowshipping with believers, and letting people into my life in general. I say this because I’ve gone through the harshest criticisms. Judgments from left to right, whispers circulating around the four corners of a building, and beyond– you name it. I know I’ve been the talk of the town at some point. And I don’t know when it will ever stop.
I am influential. I get it. And I cannot completely avoid being the highlight of some people’s conversation at points in time.
I am simply skeptical of going to church because I do believe that conversations that people have about me are not always Godly nor constructive. They do not and will not build me up or others because most, if not some, of these accusations or murmurs are simply not true or completely true. They just wrongly benefit those who spread them by boosting their ego or hiding their own shame.
Yet, for the skeptical who is remotely like me– who has seen the darkest parts of the church, I believe that the church community still has value. And that it is God that has mandated communion from the very start.
For the skeptical, here are reasons why you should still go to church:
1) Church is family
You don’t leave your family. You extend understanding, compassion, kindness. Maybe you’ve experienced church hurt or church divisions that have left you in doubt and questioning if you’re still meant for community. You are.
And if God has called you to become part of that specific church community, you have to fight to stay there– to work with God on the best way to cope with these relational challenges.
Proverbs 27:17 (ESV)
“Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.”
Remember that at the end of the day, you are still accountable to God. There will be times when God will call you to leave a specific church community because of reasons only He can justify. Yet, if you’re sure that God has called you from that place to another, there is no reason to stay. You are accountable to God first.
2) Relational conflicts build up
James 1:2-4 (ESV)
“2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”
In seasons that you ought to remain in a certain church community, while going through relational conflicts, remember that trials build up. There will be times when instead of God removing you from the situation, He will guide and usher you through it. This is to work something in you– to possibly change a heart issue and refine your character. You must welcome these trials and treat them as opportunities for growth. To cope with God upon His revealing of areas yet to be molded by Him.
Romans 8:28 (ESV)
“28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good,for those who are called according to his purpose.”
In all my years as a Christian, I have resolved it in myself that what matters when we go through something is how effectively we go through it. Call it good processing and appropriate response or action, but that is the test of our faith. To rightfully navigate every conflict by God’s grace and to remain steadfast in our Biblical principles amidst it all.
We live in a world that aspires towards those “should-bes”– that yearns towards the ideal and perfect world God has designed from the very beginning. The reality is: we’re not there yet.
May we develop the grace to work with God towards restoration.