We are not cured completely when we come to Christ. There are still parts of our lives that are wrong, that are broken. The consequences of our actions remain. The thief dying on the cross still had his legs broken by a legionary, so he would die for his crimes. He was in paradise with Christ, but in this world he was dead on a tree, damned.
Sometimes we are left like the blind man. Seeing but trees, stumbling on furniture as surely as I would if I did not put my glasses on in the morning. We are left with the results of our actions, and work to undo.
Our witness is not what we did wrong, but what we do to undo the harm we have done, for the sake of Christ.
22They came to Bethsaida. Some people brought a blind man to him and begged him to touch him. 23He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village; and when he had put saliva on his eyes and laid his hands on him, he asked him, “Can you see anything?” 24And the man looked up and said, “I can see people, but they look like trees, walking.” 25Then Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again; and he looked intently and his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. 26Then he sent him away to his home, saying, “Do not even go into the village.”
27Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” 28And they answered him, “John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.” 29He asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Messiah.” 30And he sternly ordered them not to tell anyone about him.
31Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. 32He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 33But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.”
We do not have a full perspective. Peter has as true a vision as the blind man: he could not see the plan of Christ, and his reasoning was incorrect. The agenda that he thought was correct was not: the kingdom of God was not a political entity but a church.
Against which Google will not stand, let alone the Gates of Hell.
The reason I am relaxed about the fate of the church is not because of the wisdom of our leaders. They are fallen, and they are mistaken. None of us are Christ.
I am comfortable because Christ is the leader of the church, and those who stick close to him grow, while the others fall into spiritual death. And though the devil roars like a lion, he does so because his time is short.
We don’t need to be perfect. We don’t need to be healed. We don’t even need to be right. We merely need to ask Christ for healing, and accept his correction.