The Blemished Bride

That He might present her to Himself a glorious church,
not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing,
but that she should be holy and without blemish.
(Ephesians 5:27 NKJV).

I often struggle with the church because most of my greatest hurts and disappointments have come through fellow Christians. I have also witnessed, firsthand, the egregious behavior of so-called “spiritual giants” who get up on stage and preach the gospel, while their personal lives and behavior are in direct contradiction to the Word of God.

It was so bad that at one point I walked away from the church for several years. When I returned, I found myself looking askance at it, waiting for the next person to behave badly. It did not help that just as I returned, I fell over another unlovely Christian who behaved atrociously and hurt me badly. However, the timing was so “perfect” I realized pretty quickly that this was an attack of the Enemy to prevent me from returning and I stood my ground. Then my thinking on the church totally turned around when I read a book authored by my senior pastor, Steve King, called “Beware the Slow Leaks.”

When we deal with the church we are standing on holy ground. We need to see Christ’s church through His eyes, the church He bought with His precious blood.

Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood (Acts 20:28 NIV).

The bride may currently be a tad disheveled, her dress more off-white than pure white, there may be spots of mud on the hem and stains on the bodice, but Jesus is purifying and perfecting her, removing the spots and blemishes to present a perfect bride with whom He will spend eternity.

Side note: I regret now that I walked away from the church. I missed many years of valuable teaching and growth. If you are in this place right now, take advice from someone who has walked this path – don’t! Don’t walk away! Find another church if need be but keep going. Ask God to meet you at your place of pain and disillusionment and He will. He will get you through it. And at the end of the day, do not ever blame him for the behavior of some of His children. He will deal with them at the right time, and in the right measure.

Take out the precious from the vile (Jeremiah 15:19 NKJV).