Forgiving the Church by Henry Nouwen

Thanks to Mark for passing along this wisdom!

"When we have been wounded by the Church, our temptation is to reject it. But when we reject the Church it becomes very hard for us to keep in touch with the living Christ. When we say, 'I love Jesus, but I hate the Church,' we end up losing not only the Church but Jesus too. The challenge is to forgive the Church. This challenge is especially great because the Church seldom asks us for forgiveness, at least not officially. But the Church as an often fallible human organization needs our forgiveness, while the Church as the living Christ among us continues to offer us forgiveness. It is important to think about the Church not as 'over there' but as a community of struggling, weak people of whom we are part and inwhom we meet our Lord and Redeemer." - Henry J.M. Nouwen

I just have this footnote to this insight - we must also remember that the Church is not a building where a bunch of people meet together. It is the collective group of people around the world who claim Christ as their Lord and Savior. Just because a number of people meet together in a building doesn't mean they are part of the Church, and just because someone claims to be a Christian (especially in America), doesn't mean they have submitted their lives to Christ. When a group of people who love Jesus meet together and desire to bring others closer to Him, it is truly a beautiful thing.

Thankful

Today is Thanksgiving! But what does it mean to truly be thankful, and why do we only take time out to exercise this attitude once a year? When a person is thankful, or grateful, for something, it is really expressed in how they live. If I am thankful for my husband, I will respect, honor, and cherish him. If I am thankful for my job, I will work at it with my full effort. If I am thankful for Jesus, I will serve Him diligently and humbly, with all praise and joy. In the Psalms, David expresses his thankfulness with excitement!

"Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth. Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations." Psalm 100.

This is who we need to be thankful to, and He has given us all we have, and even each breath. Praise the Lord!