Church In Coffin

There once existed a problematic Church.  Many pastors came and went away leaving it the way they met it, if not worse. The church was just not growing. Then came this pastor who labored with much concern and passion for the growth of the church.  It was frustrating, and his efforts did not seem to yield the expected results.
He was almost giving up and quitting like all his predecessors, but then thought of making a last attempt at reviving the dying church. He went to print handbills and advertised on the radio and television, the obituary and funeral service of the church. The burial will be held this Sunday morning in the church premises.
        The day came. The church building was filled to capacity with members and outsiders, curious to see what this funeral of a dead church was all about. A “funeral” service preceded the final “burial’ ceremony. The pastor preached a very thought provoking sermon. After that he thanked all in the church for their sympathy and for coming to help bury his ‘dead’ church. He then ordered the coffin opened so that the people could pay their last respect to the corpse of the dead church lying in state.
         People filed out excitedly, curious to see what was in the coffin. Knowing fully well what a church is, everyone wanted to know what mischief this pastor was up to. Excitement gave way to a hushed sense of remorse as soon as each person looked into the coffin and passed with head bent low. After all had passed and gone back to their seats, the whole place became embarrassingly silent.
        Many people could not raise their heads. Instead of a dead church, they saw reflections of their faces, from a mirror laid at the bottom of the empty coffin! It was their own spiritual corpse: they have been passive about the growth of the church. They then remembered 1 Corinthians 12:14 which reminds them that they are part of the body-church of Christ and each asked,”what can I do to help build my local assembly and the Church of Christ universal?
        The above story is food for thought for each of us. Are you not also responsible for the decadence and all the vices we see in the church in these end times? Think upon it and see how you can help make necessary positive changes in your local assembly.
     Let us pray,” Revive your church, oh Lord!”