Matthew 5:16 “In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”

One of the evergreen criticisms of the church is that it doesn’t actually live up to the words and teachings of Jesus. The above scripture could be Exhibit A. Why isn’t the Christian church the spiritual beacon it’s intended to be? Shouldn’t the Christian community be attractive to outsiders? 

It’s true that the Christian church historically has fallen short of Christ’s commission to be the light of the world. That’s also true about every other institution that has ever existed. The simple truth is that human beings do not live up to their ideals, at least not for very long.   

But that shouldn’t let the church off the hook. There should be an honest accounting of what it is going on here. Below are some of my thoughts about the subject. There are not meant to be a defense of the church, but rather an affirmation of what God is trying to do through it. 

In other words, the church is intended to make the world better. Has the church done so?  On the whole, the question boils down to this – would the world be better if Jesus and his followers had never existed? Better historians than me have wrestled with this question. For anyone interested, I would recommend Tom Holland’s Dominion.  Holland, who I believe calls himself an agnostic, makes a pretty strong case that Christianity has shaped the western world in a way that is beyond dispute. In fact, many of Christianity’s harshest critics must wrestle with their own presuppositions when they attack the faith. Many secularists desire a more just, compassionate, and learned society. That desire, Holland argues, is unmistakably downstream from the influence of Christianity. To argue about the church’s failure to live up to these ideals is to saw off the branch one is perched on.  The church is responsible for those ideals existing in the first place. Pre-Christian cultures were mostly brutal, tyrannical, and dark. It would be unwise to assume those conditions couldn’t come back one day if the church were to disappear. 

 All of the above doesn’t excuse the church from its waywardness. There are real problems to confront when one surveys both church history and today’s headlines.  But the church’s inability to live up to Christ’s commands demonstrates why Jesus came to earth in the first place. The Old Testament of the Bible is one long narrative that shows all of the ways God stays faithful to His people, despite their abject fallenness. The New Testament of the Bible is one long narrative about how God stays faithful to his people, despite their abject fallenness. But Jesus’s death and resurrection become an inflection point that moves history in a new direction.  Jesus left His church with the spiritual resources to walk in a new way and break the cycle of brokenness in the world. That brokenness has only partly been repaired. Criticism of the church points to an unrealized but eventual fulfillment of God’s purposes to bring heaven and earth together again. As Christians seek to live out Christ’s teaching on earth, they are simultaneously testifying that Christ is going to return to finish the work he started. Instead of an F, the church deserves a grade of “Incomplete.” 

This doesn’t mean it’s wrong. The shifting winds of right and wrong aren’t necessarily a useful barometer of progress or substance. In some ways, the foundation of Christian doctrine will always be unpopular because of its unwavering stance that God doesn’t change, and that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. If people are turned off by Christians and the church, perhaps it’s because its teachings and practices are simply different than what the wider culture expects or prefers. A church that buckled to the whims of public polling or the cultural marketplace would cease being a church. In this way, the Church often offers a respite from the throes of political turmoil. 

If the church drifts from Christ’s mission, the light dims. If you’re reading this and have become disappointed with the church or some individual Christians in your life, there could be some very good reasons for that. But that disappointment should not then lead to despair. While the church has its problems, it also holds within it the very words of life. I’m reminded of the time in the gospel when Jesus asks his disciples if they will leave him too just like the crowds were starting to do. Peter responds, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.” 

Indeed, where else can we go? If Christ is indeed the light of the world, the church is the place He intends for you to experience that light. You won’t find it in politics, science, or popular entertainment. You won’t find it in your own moral fortitude. And you won’t find it in any other spiritual pursuit outside of Him.