Tuesday, June 07, 2005

Church: To Go or Not To Go

Every now and then I come in contact with people who I used to see all the time at church, but for some reason they haven't been in a while. After asking how they are, I usually ask where they have been. Sometimes, they answer by saying, "You know, you don't have to go to church to be a Christian!" While this is true, I have to wonder if they are truly Christ-followers if they won't even make an effort to go to the house of The Lord in order to strengthen their relationship with Him.

Hebrews 10:25 says, "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." The author of Hebrews is showing us that meeting together as a congregation is a great way to encourage one another and to equip each other for Jesus’ second coming.

If you are someone who thinks that there is no benefit to going to church, I encourage you to remember the analogy that Jesus uses in Mark 6:34. We are all lost without His direction. The church is a place where we come together in order to learn more about God, and to strengthen not only our relationships with fellow Christians (which is important), but also our relationship with Christ. You cannot truly receive the blessings of God when you aren't even obedient in something as simple as meeting with fellow Christians as a congregation.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I could never imagine my life without church. It's like a second home to me. I'm there every time the doors are open. I just can't understand why someone would want to stay away from their brothers and sisters in Christ. I think some of it is fear of conviction. They know that when you go to church u feel certain convictions and they don't want to deal with theirs. It such a lame excuse for not going..ugh