Church hurt is real. If you’ve ever been that exhausted mother who finally decided it was time to return to in-person worship, struggled to get your kids to cooperate with you in coming, and when you finally had the moment to sit down and worship with the church, you were told your kids are too loud and you need to move them out of the sanctuary, then you may have experienced church hurt. Or, if you’ve ever been that musically gifted teenager that just sincerely wants to play your instrument in grateful worship to Jesus and on one of the occasions you were invited to play, some misguided member who has unbiblically demonized your instrument, takes it upon themselves to berate you about their disdain for this instrument and why you shouldn’t play it here, then you have experienced church hurt. Or maybe you’ve been that person who faithfully serves the church with a smile, yet while on a church trip someone you thought was a friend says something that really hurt you, leaving you ostracized for the remainder of the trip, left without an apology, and so you’ve left that church, then you have experienced church hurt. Church hurt happens in a variety of ways and can be very painful. And the sad truth is that the wound inflicted by one person in the church can affect how the wounded person sees the entire church, which can then lead to how that person sees God, pushing that person away from both God and the church, and thus Satan seeks to accomplish his goal to the destruction of a soul. However, foreseeing this type of trauma, Jesus had something to say about it.
Sitting inside a house surrounded by His disciples, who had been disputing among themselves about which of them would be the greatest in the kingdom of God, and this just months before His crucifixion, Jesus gently places a child before them to teach them what they must be like if they even expect to be in the kingdom of God. They must be like a child; trusting, humble, teachable and dependent. But then He issues some strong warnings if anyone offends, causes to stumble or hurts one His children who believe in Him, whom He calls little ones. Here, Jesus is not only referring to actual children among us, but anyone from spiritual children who may be new or young in the faith to anyone else who is growing in the faith. We are all His children, His little ones. And when you’ve been hurt in the church, you may be tempted to wonder to yourself if you really matter to God at all. So, just how much do you matter to God, especially when you’ve experienced church hurt? Well, as Jesus is standing there, still holding that precious child in His arms, maybe if we join the disciples and listen in, we can get clarity to this question. You can hear the passion coming out in Jesus’ voice as He continues in Matthew chapter 18, beginning in verse 10…
“See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven continually see the face of My Father who is in heaven.”
I used to read this verse and merely be left with the beautiful thought that each of us have guardian angels that regularly see the face of God the Father in Heaven. And as wonderfully true as that is, as I was studying this verse this week, I began to realize that Jesus was saying something even more pointed. Jesus was using the common imagery of the time to describe someone of import that has direct access to the court of a judge or king who executes judgement and is bringing them a report. And in Heaven, Jesus is saying, these guardian angels are the most noble of angels who have direct access to the court of God’s presence to report whatever is happening to His children! Now, especially in the context of what Jesus said just prior to this statement, it becomes unmistakably clear what Jesus is saying. He’s saying that you matter so much to God that…
HE WILL HOLD WHOEVER HURTS YOU ACCOUNTABLE.
You know exactly what this is like if you’ve ever been driving too fast in a school zone and hit a speed bump, or worst yet, got stopped by a cop who was initially hidden from your view. These things have been put in place to hold accountable anyone who could potentially hurt one of the children going to or from the school, because these children matter. Well, God says that you are His child, and you matter so deeply to Him, that He promises to hold accountable anyone who hurts you!
Just look at what Jesus said prior to verse 10. He essentially said someone is better of dead than to cause one of His little ones to stumble. Then He pronounces woes on anyone in the world who causes offense or someone to stumble. He says it would be better for you to get rid of that part of your body that causes you to sin or offend one of His little ones and enter life, then be cast into the fires of Hell! Jesus is using the strongest language possible here to not mince words and drive home His point. Don’t mess with His kids or there will be consequences! And yes, His core desire is for all people, including those who cause offense, to come to repentance and be saved. But, if they harden their heart in unrepentence, they will certainly be held accountable. Why? Because God is love and as His child, that is how much you matter to Him. It is literally a dangerous thing to harm one of God’s children.
Therefore, we need to take very seriously how we treat one another. And we must beware if we’ve caused hurt or harm especially to our young people or those who are spiritually young among us. And if the Holy Spirit is bringing the hurt and harm you’ve caused to your attention and your heart is feeling conviction, then I beg you to repent immediately for the sake of your own soul! I am convinced that one of the most evangelistic things the church can do in this generation is say “I’m sorry” and mean it. Jesus says that we are to be known for our love for one another and that the world will finally be convinced that God has sent Him into the world as the Son of God by our oneness. And this can only happen when we make reconciling among ourselves a top priority. Such a thing would stun the world and move their hearts toward faith in Christ!
You see, Jesus knows that when someone gets hurt in church it can cause them to be led astray, find themselves lost and feeling far from God. Therefore He says, beginning in verse 11…
