[A couple of months ago, Chris Gallagher asked me to write an article for his blog. He was doing a special series on “Why I Love The Church,” inviting different writers to express their thoughts on that subject. I wasn’t in the rotation, but if there were a hole in the schedule, he’d put my article in. So this article was written to be part of a series, trying to look at the topic in a different way than the others. Here’s what I wrote.]

I love the church in her ideal state:

• The unblemished, purified Bride of Christ, waiting to meet her Bridegroom
• The new Jerusalem, descending from heaven as God’s dwelling in the midst of His people
• The body of Christ, growing up into the very image of the One who bought her with His blood
• The earthly manifestation of the Kingdom of God

I love the church in her flawed reality:

• The congregation whose off-key singing makes a strong argument for instrumental music
• The brothers who check off the five acts of worship on their scoresheet each week
• The new Christian who discovers that word he’s always used isn’t as appropriate as he thought it was
• The free spirits who launch into anything and everything without considering the ramifications

I love the church at her very best:

• People opening their homes to strangers because they share the same Savior
• Christians giving sacrificially so that others may learn about Jesus
• Widows and teenagers and bank presidents dressing up as biblical characters to entertain and teach at Vacation Bible School
• Believers gathering to praise and worship God even though that very thing could land them in jail

I love the church at her absolute worst:

• Members fighting over personal issues, masking them behind alleged doctrinal differences
• Christians falling into the very same sins that plague the people around them
• Leaders giving into the human temptations of power and position, lording their authority over those around them
• Longtime churchgoers who continue to feed on spiritual baby food, whining and crying when they don’t get their way

I love the church in the world today:

• The family of God, loving one another as children of the same Father
• Strangers and aliens, pilgriming together to the Promised Land on the other side of Jordan
• Royal priests, heavenly ambassadors, holding out the Word of God to an unbelieving humanity
• Faithful witnesses, enduring ridicule and shame for the sake of the Name

I love the church in all her manifestations, in all her glory and all her failings, because all of those things represent who I am as a Christian. I am a sinner, and I am forgiven. I am flawed, and I am perfection waiting to happen. I am human, and I am supernatural, a holy temple of God.

I am the church. My place in the Kingdom of God is an inseparable part of who I am. When I criticize her, I am really criticizing me, for her flaws are merely a reflection of the human condition of which she is made. When I praise her, I am praising my God, for her goodness is only a reflection of His.

I love the church. As it has been. As it is. As it someday will be.