Trusting God in His Church

Do you trust the Church? Or, maybe, the question should be asked another way. Do you trust God to speak to us through the Church, in spite of her problems? That makes the doctrine a bit more clear. The Church in herself does not have the right answer, or the authority to rule the people of God. In Christ, however, she has that knowledge and authority, because He promised to give it to her. He promised that the Church would be the very foundation of all truth (including Scripture--contrary some non-catholic opinions).

An illustration that I like to use is drawn from a number of descriptions in the Old and New Testament. The Church is our stay-at-home Mom who is with us children. She teaches us, guides us, and tells us what our Heavenly Father wants because He gives her authority and knowledge to do so. God is not an absentee Dad, but He does love His bride, the Church, and therefore He enables her, by His grace, to fulfill the task of leading us.

Yes, sometimes it might be hard to understand what Mother Church is saying, and we have to go back to previous statements of hers to clarify what we are supposed to be doing. Yes, there are also times when it seems that she says something that does not fit with what we know, so we are called upon to ask our Heavenly Father to help clarify things for us. That does not mean that He leaves us confused, because if we honestly want to obey Him in all He commands, and we are willing to be patient and wait for His response, then we will be able to know what is good and right.

Thus, once again, do you trust God to speak to us through His Church? That is what we are called to do, and it is what the Apostles taught the early Church. They learned the lesson; sometimes the hard way, but they learned it. Are we able to learn? In these days when it feels like we are enduring the same challenges and persecutions that the early Church endured, we would be wise to learn from their example. Be patient; never stop praying; and trust that God will point us in the right direction.