Growing up, I didn't go to church regularly. When I did, I went to a small southern baptist church that was right down the road and ironically enough - owned by my grandfather until he passed away when I was six. I would get up and go with my grandmother to church and honestly, I don't even know why. It wasn't fun in the least. Sunday School was drab and quite frankly a little creepy in the back of the building. The music was out of a hymn book (and I still enjoy a good ole hymn) and the preachers would get so riled up that you had to take an umbrella to avoid the spit (ok maybe not but you knew it was going to get intense if the preacher pulled out his handkerchief!). Every Sunday we were told that at any moment we could walk out those doors, get hit by a truck and go to hell. I am not poking fun - I am being quite truthful.
So, I say again - I am not sure why I even went. But over time, I stopped going. I can't remember the exact age or why. I just stopped. I started to veer down an ugly path and it boils down to mistakes were made and my path ended at a fork in the road on March 2005 - the day I began my relationship with Christ.
Now this isn't a blog about my testimony. I rarely share that in writing and usually like to save it for speaking engagements because there is so much to tell. This is a blog about church.
I hear the common statement - one doesn't have to go to church to be a Christian or go to heaven. I believe this to be a true statement. My dad never went to church but I have no doubt that he was a God-fearing man and I know, without a shadow of a doubt, he will be part of my welcoming party in heaven (and yes, we will be partying it up with Jesus). However, I do believe we need church.
Church, to me, is not a building where we go and sing a few songs and hear the Word. That is only part of the grand scheme of things. Church to me is family. I walk into that building and feel a love that is so strong that I never thought such a love existed. It's a place where I am always welcomed, never judged and always corrected when I 'think' I am in the right. It is a place where people come together and meet needs of those struggling. It's a place where I can vent my frustrations, my pains, my sorrow, my joy .... or just cry and get angry. It is a place where I have many brothers, sisters, mothers and fathers. It is the place where THE Father walks among us. Why would I not want to go?
Lately, this has been on my mind - a lot. The people inside that church love me like Christ would. They are non-judgemental of my past. They don't question my motives. They know my heart. They trust my choices. They listen to my fears. The heed my advice. They hug me even though I don't like hugs (I am getting better at it!) and they know when I am in a mood that only God can elevate. They do this all unconditionally. They do it only because we share the same God. We may not be family by birth but we are family by blood - His blood on Calvary!
So as I lie in bed on a Sunday morning, not wanting to even pry the blankets off me, thinking that this is the day I will just stay home and do nothing......I slowly get up, knowing that church is the place where I get to fellowship with my family. If I am not going to church on a Sunday, or if I claim I don't need to go to church - then what am I doing in place of it? Nothing.
In closing, I wanted to post a few scriptures. Now keep in mind, none of them say "you must go to church to go to heaven"....for it states the only way to heaven is through the Son. However....
Hebrews 10:25 (NIV) states - "Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching."
Here is states we should meet together. No, it doesn't say in a church. So you can validate your point if you say you are meeting at your home with other believers so you can encourage and help one another. It also states 'habit of doing' which means it was something that they normally did.
1 Corinthians 12:27 (NIV) states - "Now you are the body of Christ, and each of you is a part of it."
I like this one. It states in other verses throughout the Bible about us being part of the body. It means we each are vital in the functioning of the body as a whole. Can a body function without a leg or an ear? Of course, but it cannot function as well as if it were whole and the other parts have to work harder to compensate. We are all the body of Christ, each with our own abilities and gifts. When we come together we join those abilities and gifts and create an awesome atmosphere.
Lastly, Luke 4:16 (NIV) states - "He [Jesus] went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom."
Here is states that Jesus went to the synagogue (an assembly or congregation of Jews for the purpose of religious worship) as "was his custom". If we are to be Christ-like...then it should be our 'custom' to go assemble and pray.
This is a standing debate. Some think church is hypocritical, full of laws and rules, a circus, etc.....I think of church as something that is necessary to sustain me. Just like all families, we have quarrels and disagreements. But unlike most families, we still love one another and are quick to forgive.
I love my church and all who attend. Every Sunday is like a family reunion where all of the Father's children gather under one roof to show Him how much they love Him. Why would I want to miss that?
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