We have all heard it, “I love Jesus, but not the church.” It is such a vogue thing to say today. A love affair with Jesus, but the church is an ugly discard.
Somehow people wish to equate following Jesus as something totally separated from His Body and Bride, the church! 1 Corinthians 12:27 and Revelation 19:7 spell out so clearly the theology of Body and Bride – along with about a hundred other verses!
I loved this well reasoned post by Carey Nieuwhof, posted in 2015, A Response To Christians Who Are Done With Church. Nieuwhof reminds us,
“If you’re a Christian, church is not something you go to. It’s something you are.
You can’t disassociate from church as a Christian anymore than you can disassociate from humanity as a person.
You don’t go to church. You are the church.”
Read the whole post from Nieuwhof, it is worth it!
For those who love Jesus, get busy loving the church! It is God’s calling on your life!
Is it messy? Of course!
Hard at times? Yup!
Exasperating? People can be that way.
But the church is a spiritual collection of people brought together under the unity of Jesus and indwelt with his Holy Spirit. The rough edges are being knocked off all of us.
Don’t give up on the very thing God has called into existence and is bringing heavenward to Himself! Get busy loving and building up the church. You are called to be an active member of this motley crew. This group of cracked pots that are being transformed into the likeness of Christ himself (2 Cor 3:18)
Brian Boone 
May 15th, 2019 at 11:04 am
Thank you!! I needed to “hear” it, again, for the nth time.