Living in Hope: Finding It Even when God’s People are Messy

Does “doing church” renew your hope each time you gather—or does it sometimes rob you of your hope? If it’s the former, take a minute to thank God for that gift. If it’s the latter, keep reading. My goal in this next article in our series on “living in hope” is just that: to help you live in hope through your church even if your church is messy.

It should be, in fact, that we find hope among the people of God—that each time we gather with the church, we walk away with encouragement and zeal.

You might feel like today, though, that you’re part of the church at Corinth Paul described in 1 Corinthians, and your heart’s hurting. There’s no pain quite like the pain of church pain when the family of God doesn’t feel like family. Church can just hurt . . . .

A quick look at that Corinthian church shows they were about as messy as a church can get. They were, among other things: arguing and divided, living carnally, tolerating sin, suing each other, abusing their spiritual liberty, observing the Lord’s Supper wrongly, battling over spiritual gifts, and denying the resurrection. Surely this was a church any sane pastor or potential church member would want to avoid.

Nevertheless, I’m struck by the way Paul began and ended the letter of 1 Corinthians. Before the apostle ever hammered away at the Corinthians’ vices—and that he did—he began by letting them know he always thanked God for them:

I always thank my God for you because of the grace of God given to you in Christ Jesus, that you were enriched in him in every way, in all speech and all knowledge. In this way, the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you, so that you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for the  revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ. He will also strengthen you to the end, so that you will be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful; you were called by him into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. (1 Cor 1:4-9)

Paul saw the Corinthians as a uniquely gifted congregation, called into fellowship with the Son who would complete His work in them. If we stopped with these verses, in fact, we would see the Corinthian church as a glowing one. Indeed, I say it again: Paul always thanked God for those people.

Then, Paul ended this letter with one of the most intimate closures of any of his New Testament letters: “My love be with all of you in Christ Jesus” (1 Cor 16:24). He truly loved these people, and he wanted them to know that fact so well that he concluded this letter with these words. They were indeed his “brothers and sisters” in Christ (a phrase Paul used more than twenty times in 1 Corinthians).

Here’s where the story gets challenging. Paul thanked God for the Corinthians in chapter 1 and expressed his love for them in chapter 16 of 1 Corinthians—and in between, he essentially said to them, “You’re an absolute mess!” Somehow, Paul was able to see God’s hand in His church despite all the apparent victories of the enemy. He could see light somewhere in the darkness.

Here’s my point. None of the churches you and I are part of is perfect. The folks we worship with and lead are sinners. They still fight. They don’t always exhibit the strongest theology. They can be worldly. The enemy still wins in their lives far too often. And, you and I fall into these same patterns as well. Sometimes, I fear, we’re the ones who wound the hearts of other believers.

Yet, our churches are also still made up of God’s people. Still, He has gifted each of them in some capacity. Still, God will complete His work in them. Still, we must thank God for them.  

And, we must love them. We must be able to say to them, “My love be with all of you in Christ Jesus” even when they drive us crazy. Even messy people can be God’s gift to us. In fact, we earn the credibility to speak into their messes when our gratitude and love for them are genuine and obvious.

If you’re a hurting pastor or church member today because the people of God with whom you congregate are messy, I encourage you to pray these prayers at some point this day:

• “Lord, bring me to the place where I can thank You for Your people.”

• “Give me a love for them that’s undeniable and deep.”

• “Grant me wisdom to know when and how to address their messiness. Let my words of truth be filled with love.”  

• “Renew my hope in You as You continue to work in them, and renew my hope in them as they follow You.”

Live in hope today, friend, even among messy people. God is still at work.