Reconciling with Community

“Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another.”

Hebrews 10:25

I know there was a time when the church, or the community of faith you were part of, hurt you. Maybe it was a cruel comment, a hasty judgment, a disappointment with people who were supposed to represent my love and represented the opposite instead. And since then you've stayed away, too wounded to return.

My son, my daughter, I understand that pain more than you imagine. I too have been let down by those who should have been closest to me. But I don't want the failure of imperfect people to keep you away from me forever. People will fail, because they are still in process, just like you.

That doesn't mean going back to exactly the same place, with the same people, if that still causes too much pain. But it does mean not closing your heart to the fellowship I created for you to live your faith alongside others, not alone. Seek, with care and prayer, a way back into fellowship, even if it's somewhere else.