Don't lose faith in the church
Taylor Martin, Reporter
November 7, 2007
In a world overrun by pain and suffering it is very easy for Christians to lose heart. The weight of the many statistics and stories are enough to crush even the most hopeful of people. Yet God knew what he was doing; he gave us a way to combat despondency and the despair of people within those statistics.
The church is a powerful organization. Alone, the impact we make can seem miniscule, but when put in conjunction with numerous others the effect amounts to so much more. Through the church we are a united front against the abuse and injustices of the world. To be sure, we are not all called to the same specific mission. But we can take joy and hope in that. To use Paul's analogy, some are the eyes, some the hands, etc. The hands cannot function unless they know where they are going. One person cannot feed the malnourished if another doesn't make it possible financially for that person to do so.
Too often we hear of the injustices perpetrated by the Christian church. While we cannot simply gloss over the fact that we have neglected the cause of the needy and worse, it is important for us to remember that the church as God designed it is a good and beautiful thing. God gave us the power through community to enact peace and justice in the world.
So take hope in the structure of the church. Never cease to analyze and critique it-we need to hold ourselves accountable-but do so with the knowledge that it is a powerful medium for God's grace, and that it is through the church that God has given us the power to bring hope to a needy world.