September's Theme - The Church: Christ's Beautiful Bride

The church has taken a lot of heat lately. In our world of deconstructive tendencies we have learned it is far easier to pick people and things apart than it is to build people and things up. Certainly some things need to be critiqued and improved. There is no doubt about that. But often we don't take the time to look at things from a positive perspective. It is time that we remind ourselves of the positive attributes of Christ's church.When we view the church solely with a critical eye, I am afraid that we don't see God's people and God sees His own people. We view things with a much more criticism and far less grace than God does. Even those of us who are strong proponents of grace seem to see this more on an individual level rather than on a corporate level. We expect God to be graceful to us as individuals but don't always appreciate the church with the kind of grace God gives us as a body. I believe when God sees his bride, the church, he sees something beautiful. I believe when Christ, the head of the church, sees His body, He sees something beautiful and worthwhile.We can create posts that list the 10 things wrong with the church today but let's look at it from the other direction. What is going well? What beautiful things are happening? How are Christians actively embodying and imitating our Savior? Tell us some good news for a change. Do some edifying, some up building. So here is our chance...let's build up the bride!It is important for Christ's church to have a positive self image. That doesn't mean there is never a time or place to critique but that we always need to keep things in perspective of the bigger picture of how God sees his bride being fully aware of her flaws.