Last evening as Pastor Barbee was preaching on the permanency of marriage and it's relationship with Christ and the church my mind wondered a bit and I thought of Christians and the local church. We know that membership in the universal church is made actual and real by membership in the local church. So, in my wandering mind, the wondered, why don't we have or ask for lifetime commitment in the local (not a) church?
It seems when we become a little dis-satisfied, offended, or unhappy and can't have our way, the first thing we do is divorce ourselves from the local fellowship that loved, helped, and grew us and find a new one. So I asked myself, if God wants marriage to be for a lifetime, and wants us to work things out rather than divorce, could he want the same of the believer and the local church?
What do you think?