Jesus has not given up on His church, and He asks you not to either.
Six weeks ago you came into this class disappointed with the church. Maybe you still are, and with good reason. Maybe you are still asking the question from day 13: God, really? How can THIS be Your will? Today’s passage is part of His answer.
It is about marriage, but Paul keeps saying it is really about Christ and the church. Read it and look at how Jesus treats His bride: what He gave for her, what He is still doing for her, and what He intends her to become.
He knows every one of her flaws far better than you do. And He has not walked away. Loving the church as Jesus loves it does not mean pretending the flaws are not there. It means giving yourself for her anyway.
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Last time you wrote that you would:
This is where you will look back at yesterday. For today, just notice how you are coming into this.
An honest prayer
Pray this as it is, or in your own words.
Jesus, You love Your church. Forgive me for loving it less than You do. Teach me to love Your people as they are, and to give myself for them as You did.
Read
Ephesians 5:25-32 (OTB)
25Husbands, cherish your wives, just as Christ cherished the church and offered Himself for her, 26to sanctify her, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, 27and to present her to Himself as a glorious church, free from stain, wrinkle, or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. 28In this same way, husbands should love their wives as they love their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for it, just as Christ does the church— 30for we are parts of His body. 31“For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united with his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” 32This is a profound mystery—but I am referring to Christ and the church.