Provoke One Another

 

When General H. Norman Schwarzkoph returned from Vietnam, his back had been severely damaged from numerous parachute jumps. Spinal surgery was all that could save him from paralysis. The surgery was successful, but the recovery was slow and painful. Schwarzkoph became depressed and contemplated retiring. Tom Bratton, an amputee in his hospital ward, shook him out of his depression. He asked, “Sir, if I can walk on one leg, how come you can’t walk on two?” In his book, “It Doesn’t Take A Hero,” Schwarzkopf relates how Bratton’s question affected him: “I was embarrassed because eventually I was going to have a normal life, while Bratton never would. He and his pals went in and out of my ward every day, joking, playing cards, and generally terrorizing the orderlies. I began to understand how (our ward) the Snake Pit, worked. Newcomers, just back from Vietnam were often bitter and consumed with self-pity. If a man didn’t ‘snap out of it,’ the doctors would assign him a bed down in the Snake Pit. Like Bratton, most of the guys had been there for months, even years, and were fighting to overcome terrible injuries. So, they were merciless when the newcomer started moaning. They’d yell, ‘You wimp! Shut up! What are you moaning about? There are a lot of guys here that are hurt worse than you are. We don’t want to here it.’ They’d often reduce a man to tears. But after that, he’d grind his teeth and fight back, which is precisely what they wanted all along. The guys in the Snake Pit were relentless, but they brought people back to life.”

[Hebrews 10:23-25] There is no denying that the church is facing some real problems today. Biblical authority is being undermined. Unscriptural practices are being introduced. False doctrine is being taught. Her purity is being compromised for the sake of personal preferences. Many have spoken up and spoken out. There are fine Christian men and women who have taken a stand. Some have written articles and books. Some have preached with vigor to protect the church. Others have used the internet, television, radio, and the newspaper to voice their concern. Be grateful for those Christians who stand for God and His truth and may they always do so with boldness and conviction. However, we cannot become so consumed with the negative that we lose sight of the positive. True, whether big things or small things, the Lord’s church is no stranger to problems. If asked, “What’s wrong with the Lord’s church?” most of us could probably come up with a pretty comprehensive list of things. So, what’s right with the Lord’s church? What’s right with the church is it’s MASTER. The church is Christ’s. It belongs to Him. He purchased it with His own blood (Colossians 1:18-20). What’s right is its MANDATE. The church’s purpose is to save souls. It is the agency by which the story of salvation is to be told (Ephesians 3:7-12). What’s right is its MANUAL. All of God’s word on any and every subject is pure and perfect because all of it is God-breathed (2 Timothy 3:16-17), therefore, we can trust our lives to its message. We can live by its teachings. It is our handbook for life. What’s right about the Lord’s church is its MEMBERS. You may be thinking to yourself, “I know a lot of members of the church that aren’t right.” The church is made up of imperfect people. A church can be right without being perfect as long as the members understand who they are and who they belong to - Jesus. We are living stones which make up the church (1 Peter 2:4-5). As you know it's easy for the children of God to become discouraged and drop out of service to the Lord. Therefore, we must provoke and exhort one another for we are the stewards of the church. It’s up to us to see that she exists as he designed her to be until he returns for her, His bride (Revelation 22:12-17).