One: I like the idea of church. A regular gathering of the redeemed to worship, remember, nurture one another, hammer out questions and hold one another accountable. After all, “it is not good for man to be alone.” We were made needing one another, and do not function well in isolation.
Show me a Christian who can please God better alone than with other believers and I’ll show you a one-of-a-kind, something never before seen on planet Earth. The Lord thought you and I would be needing each other, so placed us in a church fellowship when He saved us.
Two: I like the people in the church. Two things can be said of the people who make up almost any congregation on earth: They are a cross-section of humanity, of the very type found in a grocery store or in a schoolyard, and they contain a special group—the cream of the crop—of the best people on the planet. Jesus said a sure sign that we are His is our love for one another, i.e., fellow Christians.
Show me a Christian who does not like church people and I’ll show you someone backslidden, out of fellowship with Christ. This is a no-brainer, as sure as the sun rises in the east.
Three: I like the work of the church. Specifically, Jesus committed to us “the ministry of reconciliation” (2 Corinthians 5), another term for spreading the gospel to the ends of the earth (Matthew 28:18-20). Now, He gave plenty of commands to us—everything from loving each other to being salt and light in the community—but nothing trumps the Great Commission, taking the good news of the Savior to the world.
Show me someone who says, “I know I’m not obeying the Lord but I love Him,” and I’ll show you a liar. Jesus said, “If you love me, (you will) keep my commandments.” (And by “commandments,” He was referring to all His teachings, not just the famous Ten sayings of Exodus 20.)
