When God’s people are gathered from every nation, tribe and tongue, when people of diverse social standing and race and financial status are put together by the Holy Spirit, something wonderful and powerful happens. We change. We learn from each other. We become family.
This is why it is so important to not simply be a token participant in your local church, but a full-on, all-in member.
That means you attend as often as you physically can. That means you go to most of the events. Even the potlucks and the seemingly nonessential things.
Why? Because you’re part of a local body, part of a family.
We are all sacrificing time, energy, passion and the best of our lives for Christ. And, here’s the big one, when God’s people gather corporately every week to bow their heads and lift up their hands in worship, it says something. It’s a powerful statement about who God is and who we are. It sends a loud message to our part of the world. Yes, there is a God, and yes, we consider Him transcendant and holy and worthy of our deepest adoration.
We miss something when we check in on Sunday and then check out right after the service. We miss something when we stay home and watch it online. We miss something when we do a lot of Christian, churchy type stuff, but don’t actually attend church on Sunday. We miss the life of the body of Christ.
Church isn’t simply for self-improvement (I got nothing out of the message last week. I wish the music wasn’t so loud. Did you see that kid in the third row who was making all that noise?).
Church isn’t just so I can change and be better at my job and my marriage and my golf game. It’s body life. And if you’re not all in, my friend, you’re missing out.
