Church Life

I have a small confession to make. I didn’t go to church today. I’m in Niagara Falls with my family for our annual vacation. Don’t worry. We went to church in Aylmer last night. So we’re covered. No I didn’t go in order to check off a box. I ‘go to church’ pretty much every week and it has become that day which the rest of my week revolves around. I’m not saying that is the way it’s supposed to be. I’m saying that’s the way it is.

How about you? I’m thinking that if you read this blog on a consistent basis, you likely have some form of faith in Jesus. The truth is I have no idea of who you are. Ok. There is one girl who is part of The Lighthouse church in Pt. Burwell. I know that you read faithfully. There is that one guy in my life group. A couple of my university friends and my pastor friend tend to be regulars. Plus I have three people who have subscribed to the blog. Other than that, I really don’t know who checks in. I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if some of you are not a regular participating part in a church. How essential is it to be a regular part of a congregation?

If you aren’t a participating part of a local congregation, I’m sure you have your reasons. I mean, that is, assuming that you refer to yourself as a believer or a Christian. I’ve heard many reasons why people ‘don’t go to church’, but I’d like to hear yours. Maybe you have one that I’ve never heard before.

I was going to comment on a few common reasons, but I’ll wait to hear yours. If you were going to inform me that many church goers sin, yeah. I get that. I have pictures. And I know that not everyone in the church really belongs to Jesus. I get that too. You have no idea how much I get that. So I’m not going to pretend that going to church is necessarily likened to walking with Jesus. If you are staying away because of some shortcoming that you see within the church, I encourage you to reconsider. This is your grand opportunity to enter into their ranks and allow them to gaze upon the perfection that God has poured into you.

I can’t take the stand that being a member of a congregation is a requirement of any kind, but what I can definitively say is this – if we are a believer who resists being an active part of a church, we really don’t share the mind of Christ.

Ephesians 5:25
For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her

Ephesians 5:29
No one hates his own body but feeds and cares for it, just as Christ cares for the church.

Jesus loved the church, to the point where He laid down His life for her. That’s no small deal. How many of us love the church to that extent? I don’t. If we loved the church in a similar manner, what would it look like? We’d probably at least show up.

In its purest sense, the church is made up of people, although, our ‘churches’ have often taken on the form of an institution and legal entity. I have reflected much as of late on my life amongst those who claim the name of Jesus.

I have known people who have done those nasty sins, all the while remaining within the ranks. You know. The kind that nonbelievers point to and say, “If that is what a Christian is, then I don’t want any part of it.” I’ve known the self righteous types; The ones who seem to have been completely purified in the refiner’s fire and who are quite adept at recognizing the downfalls of those around them. I have been hurt; not mortally mind you, but just enough to put my nose out of joint for a few weeks.

I was having a bit of a pity party today. I’ve been feeling rather down, wondering what kind of impact I have had in this world if any. By the edge of the pool at the Comfort Inn, watching my family swim, I sat down to check my Facebook. I was wearing my red and white Transformer t-shirt with the retro Bumblebee on the front. The shirt was given to me by the church. Well, a guy I met from ‘church’.

As I checked my messages, my pity party soon subsided. I had received a message from a young woman who has been willing to follow the Lord’s leading in her relationships. It occurred to me, that the many of the greatest sources of encouragement for me are people whom I have met in ‘the church’.

Yeah, there are other ways to develop a support group. If you have no faith, then it really isn’t for you. I’m just saying, that if you are a follower, there is a place for you that needs to be filled. And if we’re as intelligent as we prefer to think ourselves to be, most of our excuses really don’t stand up. Unless of course you have been mocked, beaten, flogged, stripped naked, punched in the head and nailed to a cross.