Injured by the ChurchSample

Day #1 The church is made up of people in the process of transformation.

Jesus did not plan for the Christian life to be lived alone. He said, "I will build my church." It is made up of the men and women he called out of the world to follow him.

It is possible that beyond fraternal communion, love, authenticity of relationships, generosity, compassion or empathy, conflicts may arise between the children of God.

Jesus mentioned the Church twice in the Gospels, notably to explain how we should deal with conflict within it. 

The reason is simple:

The church is made up of Christians, like you and me.

What is a Christian ? 

Someone who, like you, tries by faith to follow Jesus.

Someone in the process of renewing their thoughts.

A person being configured in the likeness of Jesus.

A human who has begun to manifest the fruit of the Spirit.

From incomprehension to clumsiness, from inappropriate behavior to the harshness of legalism, from immaturity to carnal behavior, the causes of potential injury are many among Christians.

Jesus did not say, "If your brother has sinned against you, change churches!”

Our master tells us to go find him and fix the problem.

Forgiveness and confrontation are the basic principles for resolving conflicts according to Jesus.

The Lord has even explained the procedure to follow in case of resistance and non-repentance:

If this doesn't work, then take another Christian with you as a witness, and then, finally speak to the spiritual authorities of the church if he doesn't listen to you (Mat 18:15-17).

When Jesus says that one must treat the one who refuses to repent as a publican, it means that he is no longer a brother, but that one must seek to win him back to Christ just as one evangelizes an unbeliever.

Don't confuse love with sentimentalism or cowardice. 

Christians often avoid the person or isolate themselves instead of doing what Jesus said, rather than confronting the problem. They are afraid of damaging their image or the relationship they have with the person. 

It is not a lack of love to confront someone. In fact, it is a lack of love not to do so because the situation will happen again with someone else. The lack of confrontation between Christians is thus a hindrance to the growth of God's children. When we become aware that we have hurt someone, we can change, but if no one tells us the truth, we can live for years without changing while hurting those around us.

To confront is to expose a problem with its author in order to solve it.

I encourage you not to be alone and to share what you have experienced with your church authorities, just as a child will talk to his parents about the actions of one of his brothers and sisters.

Do not fall into the enemy's trap of confusing the behavior of such an immature Christian with Jesus.

I pray that God will give you the courage to act with love according to Jesus' instructions, it is worth it!

David Théry

Practical teachings to experience God.