So What Is This "Church" Thing Anyway?

A few months ago I was watching one of my favorite shows, and the words were shouted "We're good people! We go to church on Sundays!" The number one problem with Christianity today is that "Church" is a place you go, not something that you are. The true definition of the church is the body of Christ, and His believers. It is not a building, it's not a service, and it's not a ritual that makes us right with God, which is why I have been trying to take the phrase "going to church" out of my vocabulary completely. It's not even a grammatically correct sentence!

We as Christians have bought into the lie that our attendance at a certain place on a Sunday morning, or even a Sunday or Wednesday night defines our moral superiority. We think that where and how often we "go to church" ranks us higher on the religious barometer, earning points with God, and eventually, our mansion in Heaven. We think that God is more pleased with us and will bless us more if we are in the pews every week, regardless of what is going on in our hearts and in our lives. And then, when things aren't going our way, we can challenge Him and ask Him why He's allowing such a faithful follower to be going through such hard times.

As believers, we need to BE the church, and we need to understand what that means. The church is a family, full of people who have come to a realization that they desperately need the saving power of Jesus Christ, and want to share that realization with other people. The church is a group of people who lifts each other up in difficult times, praying for one another, and that stands up and fights back when the enemy attacks. The church is a group that is far from perfect, and knows that there is always room to grow, and that the Kingdom of God can never reach its capacity. That means including those that we think would never accept an invitation into the Kingdom. That means inviting the poor, the outcast, and the people that we think nobody understands. We need to look at those that Jesus ministered to and spent time with, and emulate that. He wasn't afraid to reach out to the poor, He thrived on it. He wasn't afraid to reach out to the "sinners" and the hated tax collectors, it was Him that said "It's not the healthy that need the doctor, but the sick."

Christianity was never meant to be a religion, it was meant to be a relationship. Religion tells us to do good things and God will reward you. Do good things and earn points that you can use to cash in to get that new job, new car, new house etc. Spirituality tells us to have faith in God and love for Him and others, and do good things out of that, and He will bless you when you do it for the right reasons, probably in ways that you did not expect. Having a relationship with God means that we want to please Him, so we put ourselves in positions to do that, which almost always includes encouraging others.

We hear the statement all the time "well I don't believe that you have to go to church to go to heaven." I guess the question from many in response is "well do you really want to take that chance?" However, worship services and Bible Studies shouldn't be a religious experience that people should run FROM, it should be a spiritual experience to run TO. "Going to church" may not be what gets us into Heaven, but where do you get your spiritual encouragement? If you say on your own, are you reading your Bible, and praying often? Are you working with a charitable organization, helping people to spread the word? Do you have others to pray with you when you are going through tough times? And actually pray, not just say "you're in our thoughts and prayers"? Are you being challenged by others in your spiritual walk?

 An important question to ask, is "do you look forward to being at a Bible Study or worship service". If you're not excited to attend services, then some type of change needs to take place. Many different things could be causing that, and it could be you, it could be the church, or it could be God telling you to find someplace that makes you feel more at home. Nothing is worse than attending services every week, and getting nothing out of it, but many people do attend just to continue a tradition. In the book of James we read that "Faith without works is dead". However, the opposite is true as well, because works without faith is dead too. We can help people for the sake of helping them to have a better day, however if it's not coming from the love of Jesus, then are we really doing them a long term favor? Finding a congregation to be a part of, not just go to, will help us to grow in that understanding. The more that we know Jesus, the more we will want to spread His word, and the more that we will see the joy that He has to share. Joining a group of people who truly practice this and understand this will take us a long way in spreading that truth. So as believers, let's not just "go to church" this Sunday and/or Wednesday. Let's BE the church every single day!