Church Is Not Nice

1 Corinthians 12:27 – Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.

Ever get the idea that church doesn't matter much?

"I go to church," you say. "That's nice" is the answer. Nice, as if you confessed a passion for rhododendrons or let on you spent Sundays breeding Irish setters.

Not "nice", says the apostle Paul: You are the body of Christ.

Church is very different from cutting flowers or breeding dogs. You are nothing less than the body of Christ.

There is a wonderful poem by Teresa of Avila:

Christ has no body now on earth but yours;

yours are the only hands with which he can do his work,
yours are the only feet with which he can go about the world,
yours are the only eyes through which his compassion can shine forth upon a troubled world.

Christ has no body now on earth but yours.

Prayer: Gracious God: Help us this day to get our hands dirty and muscles sore. Give us aching feet and bloodshot eyes. Let us end our waking hours this day with just one more thing — the knowledge that all this has been for your work in the world. Amen.