I'm going through a period of really missing church. Yes, we've followed the "live" feeds every week from the comforts of home, but that is not the same.
We've even had the luxury of listening to worship on the go! It's not the same.
What is it about the building we call "church" that makes it so special?
Well, I'll start by saying, the Spirit comes where people gather. Prayers are heard, praise is sung. Truth is preached.
I've heard the argument that church is wherever God is, you don't need a building to worship.
After facing locked doors for over 100 days, I'd like to venture out and state, this argument couldn't be more wrong.
There is something about the building, God's House.
Sure, the people inside are sinners, but they go to this place to seek God. Where else can we go to seek God and have truth fed into our souls?
Some may say nature is church. Being a lover of nature, I really can't argue that the Holy Spirit is present in nature. God's Divine Creation is definitely worthy of our appreciation.
Whats missing when you aren't in the physical House of God?
Accountability. In church we gather as believers, seeking to praise God.
Repentance. The chance to openly confess sin and have a blessing over us that validates we are free from what we have confessed.
Soul Food. There is no other place I can go in and come out a better, more joyful version of myself. My soul is fed in God's House.
Fellowship. If you are like me, sometimes fellowship is hard. I tend to not quite fit in a lot of the time, but in church, there is an unspoken unity that helps my guards to fall away. When our voices come together in song, even if I haven't connected with anyone up to that moment, connection is there in our unified melodies.
The Word of God. Any good church has a lot of The Word. Gifted Pastors stand up to speak a message that is rich with truth. I crave truth. I read my Bible at home and work to understand the message, but there is something about hearing God's Word in God's House that really nourishes my faith seed from mustard size to fertilized!
What is church?
Church is a body of believers who seek to know God's character on a personal level. There are many faults with "organized religion" but that makes perfect sense because church is run by sinful humans.
If you do anything: pray for your church. If you don't belong to a church, pray for any church that's mission is to understand and apply God's Word to individual lives. Not just the Word that we agree with, but all of it. So help us God.
