Of Bodies and Brides

"Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into Him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love."  Ephesians 4:15-16

     There is a saying that I have heard frequently among church members that has always troubled me. It refers to people who "like Jesus, but not church," and it goes something like, "How can you like Jesus and not the church? The church is His bride, and you can't love a man and hate his bride."  I have pondered this for so long, wondering what it was that rubbed me wrong about this phrasing and finally I have realized what it is.

       Let me begin by saying that it is an absolutely accurate and worthy statement. Jesus is the Bridegroom and the Church is His bride (see Luke 5:34-35, John 3:28-29, Revelation 19:7). From the perspective of those who take the narrow path, there is nothing whatsoever wrong with questioning how anyone could love the man and not the wife. After all, Scripture says that "the two become one flesh," and so to hate a man's bride is to hate the man himself.  In the eyes of God, a man and his wife are one; a complete entity and no longer two distinct beings.

      The bit that bugs me, I have found, is that typically when the question is posed the answerer is not seeing through the eyes of God. Rather, it is man who thinks, "Of course I can love a man and not his bride," and so the analogy falls flat. I wonder, would it not be more clear to use other description of Christ and His church given in the Scripture? Would it not be more reasonable, at least in the mind of man, to talk of Christ as the Head and His church as the body (see Ephesians 1:22-23, Colossians 1:18, 2:19)? After all, any given person may see a married couple not as God sees them--a single unit--but as two individuals co-habitating under the tenuous bond of matrimony and easily divided by divorce. However, every man knows that without a head, the usefulness of a body quickly dwindles. If we think of it that way, the idea that a person can like the head but detest the remainder of the body becomes a smidgen ridiculous. 

     Personally, there was a time I could have said the same, but once I understood the absurdity of the thing I began to pray that God would help me to love like He does. Now I find that I can say I love both the Head and the body. The body may have its imperfections, it may malfunction, and it may appear flabby and even somewhat pathetic, but I have begun to understand the potential for which Christ is training His body. I have begun to understand that the church body is not yet grown and so must go through many awkward stages as it matures. Even though I can see why it appears so hideous to some, this immature body with an ancient and wise Head, yet I have come to love it. Not because it is wonderful or because I like the way it looks, but because it is a part of Him whom I adore.

"By this all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." John 13:35