by Zach Roll

Enriched by grace.

You can listen to today’s devotion by clicking on this SoundCloud link.

Church membership, at least in the United States, is on the decline across all the denominations, and in independent churches as well. There are various reasons for this. Many people say that they do not need to go to church in order to have a relationship with Christ, others have been hurt by a church in the past (and going to any church might bring back painful memories), and some people simply leave the Christian faith.

On the other hand, some people attend church for the wrong reasons, and sometimes church leaders do more harm than good. The picture of the church today is anything but perfect.

“I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge – even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you”
1 Corinthians 1:4-6 English Standard Version

The church in Corinth, the audience of this passage, was far from perfect. It was full of new converts, in a largely pagan city, and the church membership was very diverse (both socially and ethnically). They were dealing with various major issues. You would not have known that if you only read these three verses in Paul’s letter. Paul states that he gives thanks to God continually for the church in Corinth. It was not because they were perfect saints living holy lives, but because they accepted the gospel of Christ, that Paul preached to them, and they received God’s grace through Christ.

The church is imperfect because it is comprised of broken, sinful, people who are in need of a Savior. The whole Church is comprised of all disciples across the world, but it is important to connect to a local church and join a community living under God’s grace. There, you can be enriched by the Word of God, and be encouraged by your fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. The church does not need people to leave. The church needs all of us broken sinners to come together to receive grace, forgiveness, and encouragement. Amen.

Copyright Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, CO