Ideal vs. real. There’s the rub. You’ll
hear idealistic people talk about how things should really be, and then you’ll
hear pragmatic people talk about how things really are. And the two worlds they describe couldn’t
seem to be further apart.
But that’s the amazing thing about church. One the one hand, you can describe a Utopian
community filled with love, care, and compassion. But on the other hand, you can in the next
breath describe a broken fellowship marked by weakness, sickness, and
difficulties. And—somehow!—both statements
describe your church.
The reason for this seeming mystery is simple: the ideal church and the real church meet
together in Christ.
Christ is the one who forgives our sins, but He is also the
one who teaches us to forgive the sins of others. Christ is the one strengthens us, but He is
also the one whose strength flows through us into others.
Christ is the author of compassion. The balm that heals illness. The arms that lift us up and the Body that hold
us together. It’s He who makes church
the ideal place for sinners to go for redemption, and it’s He who makes church
the place where real life can be lived out.
The ideal church and the real church meet together in Christ.
