Bring Your Wounds, but Bring Your Gifts Too

There is a phrase we often use when talking about church:

“The church should be a hospital for the broken.”

And I agree.

The Body of Christ should be a place where we don't have to pretend we have everything together. We should be able to come to one another and say, “I'm struggling here. I need prayer. I need wisdom. I need someone to walk with me.”

Scripture tells us:

“Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”— Galatians 6:2

There should be room in the church for weakness.

There should be room for questions.

There should be room for someone to admit they are struggling without immediately feeling condemned for struggling.

But I think there is another side of the “hospital” picture that we sometimes overlook.

We shouldn't only come looking at what we need. We should also come looking at what we have to give.

Come as You Are—But Come Ready to Grow

“Come as you are” should never mean “stay as you are.”

We come to Christ honestly. We don't clean ourselves up first. We don't pretend our struggles don't exist. We bring them into the light and allow God to work in us.

But part of that growth happens through the Body of Christ.

Paul describes the church as a body made up of many different members:

“But now indeed there are many members, yet one body.”— 1 Corinthians 12:20

The beauty of the Body is that we don't all have the same strengths.

Where I am weak, you may be strong.

Where you are struggling, I may have already walked through something God can use to encourage you.

You might have the wisdom I need today, while I have the encouragement someone else needs tomorrow.

That means when I come into the gathering, I shouldn't only be asking:

“What can I receive?”

I should also be asking:

“What has God given me that someone else might need?”

Sometimes You're the Patient and the Helper

This is where I think the hospital illustration becomes even more beautiful.

Sometimes you're the one lying in the hospital bed.

Sometimes you're the one sitting beside it.

And sometimes you're hurting yourself while still being able to reach over and encourage the person beside you.

You don't have to have everything figured out before God can use you.

You don't have to be completely healed from every wound before you can encourage another person.

You don't have to know the entire Bible before you can share what God has already taught you.

Paul says that the Body grows:

“according to the effective working by which every part does its share.”— Ephesians 4:16

Every part.

That includes the mature believer.

That includes the new believer.

That includes the person who walked in encouraged.

And it includes the person who walked in struggling.

We may need different things, but we all have a place in the Body.

Vulnerability Still Requires Discernment

Being open with one another doesn't mean blindly accepting everything someone tells us.

If I share a struggle with another believer and they give me advice, encouragement, correction, or even a prophetic word, I still have a responsibility to test what I hear.

Scripture says:

“Test all things; hold fast what is good.”— 1 Thessalonians 5:21

Christian community isn't supposed to replace our relationship with God or the authority of Scripture.

Instead, healthy Christian community gives us people who can speak into our lives while we remain grounded in God's Word.

We should be humble enough to listen without being gullible enough to accept everything.

Sometimes God may use another believer to show us something we couldn't see ourselves.

That requires humility on both sides.

The person speaking shouldn't assume they know everything.

And the person receiving shouldn't automatically reject something simply because it challenges them.

We listen. We pray. We test. We grow.

Stop Coming Only as a Consumer

This is one of the dangers facing the modern church.

We can begin evaluating church entirely by what we receive.

Did I like the sermon?

Did I like the worship?

Did someone encourage me?

Did somebody notice me?

Did I get fed?

Those things aren't necessarily wrong to desire. We should be taught, encouraged, prayed for, and strengthened when we gather.

But something changes when our entire understanding of church becomes centered around ourselves.

The biblical picture isn't simply people gathering to consume spiritual services.

It's a body.

And bodies require participation from their members.

Hebrews tells us:

“And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works.”— Hebrews 10:24

Notice the words “consider one another.”

I'm supposed to notice you.

I'm supposed to think about how I can encourage you toward Christ.

And you're supposed to do the same for someone else.

That's how a healthy body functions.

Bring Your Wounds—and Bring Your Gifts

So yes, come to church struggling.

Come with your questions.

Come needing prayer.

Come needing encouragement.

Come admitting that you don't have everything together.

Please come.

But while you're there, look around.

Someone else may need something God has already placed inside of you.

Maybe it's your testimony.

Maybe it's encouragement.

Maybe it's wisdom gained through something painful you've survived.

Maybe it's simply sitting beside someone who doesn't want to be alone.

Maybe it's praying.

Maybe it's serving.

Maybe it's listening.

Maybe it's reminding somebody of a Scripture that carried you when you were where they are now.

The Body of Christ becomes something beautiful when we stop pretending everyone has everything together—and we also stop expecting everyone else to carry us while we contribute nothing.

Come willing to receive.

Come willing to be corrected.

Come willing to be encouraged.

Come willing to grow.

But also come willing to give.

Because sometimes you're the patient.

Sometimes you're helping the patient.

And very often, God is doing both at the same time.

Bring your wounds, but bring your gifts too.

Pastor Scott