Reflection

There is nothing to fear from honest self-reflection as a Church. Shying from it out of a feeling of fear that we'll be found guilty is misguided, as there is now no condemnation to those in Christ. Therefore all we can do is gain from seeing ourselves in the truth. But such reflection is today often called 'judgmentalism' and is treated as the furthest thing from true love. This misguided understanding of love is used as a fortress against the sword of the Spirit that wounds in order to bring life. We automatically shy from wounds, but the Christian life is an ongoing process by which the Great Physician opens us up in order to fix, to mend and to bring greater and greater life. If we are already perfected, there is no need for a Great Physician, but we know that we are not there just yet. In Christ we must be vulnerable in order to be strong, we must be weak in order to shine forth His strength. This great paradox is something that by and large is rejected today because it is not understood. And so reflection upon ourselves is reviled and those that speak up are outcasted as strange and unloving. And yet the whole Word is a magnifying glass for us, for it is not men who can assess each other, but it is the Word only which should have the great and final say.