If We Are The Body...

The church is the body of Christ. We are his representatives on earth.
I find it interesting that we are encouraged in Hebrews to keep going to ‘church’. (Heb 10:25), because church can be pretty hard to go to sometimes (when the church is being church). There’s the cliché saying that church is like a hospital, so the people you find there will not be perfect. My only problem is when the hospital doesn't seem to do any healing, and the people continue in their illnesses. Even death would be better than that.

It was so pleasant, so heart-warming, tear-jerking even to be at St. Augustine Evangelical Bible Church again 2 weeks ago. Just being in that building reminded me of what church really was about. They didn't have especially exciting music, or a Charismatic speaker. What they had were smiles. People who ‘knew my name, and were glad that I came’. Genuine people interested in each other’s lives and loving each other. And when I entered that fellowship in 2003, I was a recipient of that love that already flowed between them. I knew the smiles were not fake, because I saw behind the smiles. They came for me at the airport when I called at the last minute. They took me to the supermarket. They loaned me items from their homes when I hadn’t quite gotten myself together yet as a teenager living on my own in a foreign land. They welcomed me into their homes and fed me.
When I think of St. Augustine, I don’t think of an elder, or a particular lady, because the love seemed to come from everybody. I especially love Uncle Kelvin because he was my Sunday School teacher, and I learnt so much from the Lord through him, but he is just one small example of that church. It was the single adults, and the children, and the families. I really do mean everybody.
An interesting thing happened to me: I became a part of that church. The love became a part of me and changed me. I was excited to go, but more so, I couldn't help sharing the love. I wanted everyone to come to St. Augustine to learn from and experience God’s love. I would find myself looking around during the service to see if there was someone that I hadn't seen in a while so I could find them afterwards and say hello. I went to the prayer meetings so that I could hear the needs and share in the praise when the prayers were answered. (Those prayer meetings were powerful with no shouting and spinning needed!) I went on my first mission trip with that church. I was reassured of my salvation at that church as I saw fruit that I had never seen before.

My biggest problem with St.Augustine is that I am not there any more and I find it exceedingly difficult to feel comfortable in any other church, because I haven’t been able to feel the love that I felt there. I saw Christ. I experienced his body. When you get that, you never want anything else.

It feels now that I am in an emergency room, filled with people needing immediate attention. It feels like I've been there so long that I've picked up some infectious disease and am beginning to die myself. I feel so weak and needy. And I wonder if I am supposed to be strong and fight and help them. Or do I get out quickly before I get any worse and find a hospital that actually has the Healer there? But I cannot say the Healer isn't there. Is the problem really me? Am I not His hands and feet? Am I not the one to bring healing?
I am chocking, I am confused and I don’t know what to do.
VM.