Sunday Thoughts

I'm still waking up early every morning thinking about our old (morning) church. The one we chose to leave a few weeks ago. And as I think about it, I get angrier and angrier. We've been treated very badly. And we weren't the only ones. We don't understand why God didn't protect this fellowship or how Christians can turn into 'a brood of vipers'. It's been a harrowing journey.

Lately, though, I've discovered many friends have been through similar experiences. That, in itself, it shocking! People just shake their heads and say things like, 'There's no such thing as a perfect church' and 'It just goes to show that we are all human.' But I can't help thinking that we need to be held to a higher standard when we are called to follow Jesus, that our communities should not simply mirror the world's. If we have the Spirit living within us, shouldn't we stand out as different?

I'm aware that there are non-Christians reading my blog, and have wondered how much to share about these church difficulties and the resulting pain here. But I don't want to pretend that my life is all hunky-dory because we are believers. Jesus doesn't promise that. In fact, He promises suffering. In some countries that suffering comes as persecution for following Him, and for some of us, it is a result of the realisation that this world is not our true home. We are caught up in restlessness and homesickness and longing for our real and eventual home.

So, how can I wake up and not slide into anger? Because anger leads to resentment and bitterness and I don't want to feed that possibility. I do tend to obsess over bad stuff in my life. I don't have all the answers yet, but I think some of them will come through praising God, leaning on Jesus and daring to trust other Christians again.

We're visiting a church today that is a radical, so Outside The Box we wonder if they even know there *is* a box, kind of church. We've been hoping this is for us, but we are nervous and hurt and need healing too. Grace and Jack are desperate to put down roots again and I really hope we can.