My Little Devotional: "Together Apart" · 2:23pm Apr 25th, 2021
Inspiration for Today’s Devotional: “Uprooted”
The Student Six had a clear goal that all of them wanted in this episode–a way to memorialize the Tree of Harmony that would let everyone know how important it was to them. The problem was they disagreed about the best way to do it. And because they couldn’t get on the same page, they all ended up implementing their own ideas and, consequentially, began to sabotage each other at the same time. It wasn’t until they all agreed to work together and constructed something built based on their friendship that had been strengthened by the tree that they succeeded in creating a united project (a treehouse) and, as a result, they allowed the Tree of Harmony to live on through their work by embodying itself inside of it.
Thinking about the plot for this episode, I began to think about how it relates to the Church in the modern day.
In the Western World, it goes without saying that the Church has gained, in many circles, a rather bad reputation; especially as a result of misconduct of individual churches. There are churches, for example, which still have an implicit racial divide in spite of the message that all are welcome. There are other churches who have leaders who take advantage of their parishioners financially or mentally through manipulation and shaming. There are still other churches that basically become little “dictatorships” run by wealthy and influential members of the community who manage things to make themselves or their inner circle feel important.
Then there are churches who have leaders that condone and even promote a system for abusing their own parishioners physically or even sexually. The leaders of the Catholic Church comes to mind for this one, and to this day I still feel upset at how much damage was done to Christianity as a whole by their heinous, grotesque, and immoral actions.
I don’t think there’s anything more damaging and destructive to Christianity and to the Great Commission than toxic or corrupt churches. Such institutions are giant billboards to the world that we aren’t simply made up of broken people but that we ourselves are a broken faith and a broken religion no better…and often worse…than anything and everything that the world has to offer. It justifies everyone who accuses us or condemns us as being nothing but a corrupt, worthless system based on lies designed to prop up the sinful desires of a few.
One might say not to be too surprised that churches in the Western World turned out this way. Once our societies got to the point where Christianity was no longer a “blight to stamp out” and persecute but became favored and accepted, it was inevitable that worldly desires and weaknesses such as the idea to exploit it for power or social status would get in. That eventually a church would cease to be something apart from the world but be tainted by it and seen as a way to accumulate personal gain--the same way that happens with any power structure that has the ability to command influence. However, we were called to be better than that. To be able to stand against that sort of corruption. “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” (Romans 12:2) The fact that we were unable to is one of the greatest black marks on the history of Christianity.
Hence, it’s no great surprise that faith and spirituality in the United States, both for Christianity as well as other religions, has become very much an “individual” matter. Many churches preach about the need for a personal relationship with God and focus a lot on private devotional life of prayer and Bible reading. Many prayers are emphasized for personal needs and personal growth, while downplaying the role of the collective community of believers and an individual’s relationship to it. Even if they don’t, that’s certainly the emphasis and focus a lot of us place on our own Christian lifestyle.
And, to a point, this isn’t a bad thing. The only one we can ultimately change, after all, is ourselves. A lot of Christianity involves the personal relationship of each of us to Lord Jesus and our own individual journeys. And if we make the mistake of only ever considering Christianity as a more general “umbrella”, it can not only distract us from our own self-improvement and attempts to become more “like Christ” but it can lead us to think of the Sacrifice of Lord Jesus and our relationship with God as something “impersonal” that was done for a collective rather than for individuals.
However, for all of its flaws, all of its weaknesses, and all of the individual churches that should be avoided like the plague, the Church remains a key and important part of Christianity.
It becomes much more obvious when we look at parts of the world where Christians are still persecuted (as they were universally in the beginning). As I called out in my previous devotional, there are many places where Christians are a form of second class citizens. Their rights aren’t respected in courts, their faith and religion is considered blasphemy and an abomination, and their property (and sometimes lives) can be destroyed with impunity at the whims of their neighbors. In a situation like this, in which it is one individual against a hateful society, left poor and without any means, there’s little hope for them when the entire world is against them. Even if they hold fast to God and put their trust in him, it would take divine intervention for them to survive let alone sustain themselves. And, of course, a situation like this generates an overwhelming amount of pressure to reject one’s faith and forfeit their salvation.
However, God does leave us one “physical” mean for enduring all of these things–the “Body of Christ” or the Church. While the rest of the world may hate or spurn us, we still have each other and the ability to come to the aid of our Christian brothers and sisters who are left in need. We have the power to provide for them when their livelihoods are damaged or destroyed, either directly or through support organizations. We have the power to support them emotionally in times of depression, sadness, and anxiety. For those in more democratic institutions, we have the power to advocate for them to our leaders to pressure both them and leaders of other nations to respect their rights and decency.
Being in the Church means we are all part of one “Body of Christ”. It means that when some parts are well off that they are able to care for the parts that are not well off. It means that even when we face oppression, hardship, or pressure to abandon our faith, we still know we can turn to people who will support us, encourage us, and enable us to continue onward.
It’s true that there are Christians, particularly Christians of note, who commanded such faith that they were able to do mighty and incredible things with no other support than their personal relationship with God, and we celebrate these people and hold them high. The truth of the matter, however, is that we can all do better when we know that other people “have our back”. That if we fail they’re going to come to our aid and give us encouragement and support. That if we take a chance or a risk on something that they’ll help mitigate the fallout from things if it goes south. That if everyone condemns us or yells at us to recant or break that there will still be people who are in our corner. That we’re never “alone” when going into something dangerous or deadly but that others have us on their minds and in their hearts. And many times all of the “miracles” and interventions of God in our most desperate situations come through the actions of others who themselves are praying to God for how they can be of use to others, such that everyone in the Body of Christ is growing together and building each other up.
In this episode, all of the ideas of the Student Six were well-meant and good on their own, but it wasn’t until they supported each other and worked together that they made something truly spectacular…something that, I dare say, enabled a manifestation of divine power. In the same way, we as Christians are asked to do the same to build a “house” to the Lord for the modern age.
“Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.” (Ephesians 2:19-22)
If you are a Christian and you’ve been away from the Church for a while, I would encourage you to pray about going back. Maybe if not to your original Church, to an alternative one. And if not that, then to maybe prayerfully consider how you can help other members of the Body of Christ throughout the world who may be worse off than you yourself are.
And if you are suffering from lasting hurt as a result of abuse from a church, I pray that you will be able to seek out and receive whatever help you need, and that God would grant you healing and peace physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.
Lastly, if you feel that you might be in a church that could be abusing its own authority, I would suggest prayerfully asking God to reveal to you whether or not the church you are in is truly concerned with his Glory or the glory of who holds power within it. If the latter, please get out and find a different church immediately.
Suggested Prayer: “Lord God, thank you for the immeasurably wonderful gift of your Son, Lord Jesus Christ, who by His Sacrifice created the Church and sanctified it. As members of your Church, grant that we may strive to work together to grow in every way toward you and bringing about the Kingdom of God. Gratefully in Jesus’ Name, Amen.”
Good message about church unity. I think we underestimate how much even the great solo men and women of God needed other people. Elijah had his manservant and then Elisha. Elisha had the devout woman and her son who hosted him on several occasions. Paul had Barnabus, and the friends in his various churches who supported him even while he was in prison. Even the mightiest of us can find solace at some point with other members of the church - and even those of us who may feel like we don't serve a particularly big purpose (like the woman and her son who gave Elisha some bread with the last food they had) can end up being a great comfort to people who have a more public calling - and that's just as important in God's eyes, I think. =)
I do caution against being too ready to jump churches if they don't seem 'good' enough; God can and has changed individual churches from the inside out by the devout he places there. There are indeed times and situations where it is necessary to move away, but I think it is more common for us to leave a church because we decide it isn't worshipping God in all the precise ways we think it should, and we miss out on the parts that ARE strong and on being God's servant in helping our church body become better.