Day 13: Loving an Imperfect Church

Opening Scripture

Ephesians 5:25–28 25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 26 to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, 27 and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. 28 In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. (NIV)

Devotional Reflection

Paul’s instruction to husbands to love their wives gives us a different perspective on the church and what it takes to maintain fellowship with other believers. Paul compares the church to a wife—but it is a wife who needs washing. This is not a well-dressed, well-kept woman. She is a mess—disheveled and undone. Her skin is covered in spots and blemishes, and she requires great care. This is the picture Paul gives us of the church.

Often, those within the church can hurt us the deepest. Our expectations are higher for those who claim to walk in the light of Christ. When they fall—especially when their fall causes us pain—the wound can cut deeply. But Paul is reminding us that the church is not pretty. It is a divine institution filled with, and led by, sinful people. Some are sincerely striving to follow Christ, while others are weighed down by apathy or pride. Church hurt is inevitable.

Yet it is within fellowship that we are loved when we are doing well. It is also within fellowship that we learn how to help others when they are struggling. We learn to forgive when others fail us. We learn to confess, reconcile, and labor to restore relationships within the body of Christ. Fellowship is not always pleasant, but it is within fellowship that we are both encouraged and challenged. The more we respond faithfully in difficult moments, and the more we allow others close enough to comfort us in our pain, the more fully we experience Christ.

We experience His compassion and love when others rejoice with us. We experience His grace when we fail and are forgiven by those we have hurt. We also taste the depth of His love when we are called to forgive others. Recognizing how difficult it can be to continue loving those who have wounded us allows us to grasp how deeply Christ loves us—enduring the pain we cause, yet continuing to love us still. The fellowship of believers carries great power to draw us nearer to Him.

The Examen

Where have I been tempted to withdraw from Christian fellowship because of past hurt?

How might Christ be inviting me to love His church the way He loves me—patiently and sacrificially?

Lectio Divina Scripture

Proverbs 17:17 17 A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a time of adversity. (NIV)

Read the passage slowly, out loud, several times. With each reading, emphasize a different word or phrase. Notice what stands out and why.

Prayer Prompt

Lord, let me not give up on Christian fellowship, even after being hurt. Amen.