My childhood was one of fun and games. My brothers and I used to have the most intense backyard cricket games. We played with gusto and spirit, as if it were a real Test Match. I remember breaking my dad’s aeroplane models and sticking screwdrivers into power sockets. The most amazing thing about my family was that I knew that my mum and dad loved me no matter how must destruction I wreaked on the house. There were good times and there were bad times, but this love never really wavered.
Today, we stop to look at ‘church’. According to popular polls, church is often viewed in our culture as an irrelevant activity. The general consensus is that church is about religion that consumes your money, hearing sermons and making God happy through attendance, this which can be done in the comfort of the living room and in your own individual way. Is this your view of church? Let’s see what the bible have to say about worship and church?
I guess first of all, we need to define, what is church? A better way of stating this question would be, what is ‘the’ church? Due to misinterpretations, the church has become labelled as a building or a governing body that determines Christianity’s beliefs. However, the actual word ‘church’ means: “an assembly or gathering of believers who come together to worship God” i.e. a family! During these gatherings there will be readings from the bible, the bible is taught and believers engage in fellowship. This is a basic definition and will suffice for this article.
In my introduction, I reminisced about my childhood and family. Church is a family, where those who believe that Jesus is God and died for sins, gather to celebrate Jesus and relate with one another. The most important fact here is that church belongs to God- the creator and saviour, in which we are participants in this family with him. If I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God (1 Timothy 3:15). More explicitly put: And he (Jesus) is the head of the body, the church (Colossians 1:18) and we (the church are) his body (Ephesians 1:23). Church is a spiritual act where believers of Jesus come together to grow in our Lord. Church, simply, is a family.
Is church important? Absolutely! The Christian life is not about ritual and religion (in the ritualistic sense) but rather, church is about relationship and loving community. The word the bible uses for this community is “fellowship”, which means ‘to participate and share in your life with others of like mind’. This is a preview of what heaven will be like. Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God (Romans 15:7). When Christians gather in loving fellowship, God’s name is held high. We were made for fellowship with God but have fallen out of relationship with God through our sin (Christians Believe 1 & 2), but can be brought back into relationship through Jesus (see 1 John 1).
Like a family, we have our good times and our bad. We will love each other with brotherly and sisterly love. Church is not some individualistic ritual but it is a family. In the great times we praise Jesus and in the tough times we turn to Jesus. Do you love Jesus? Has he taken all your sins? Why not turn to him now?
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