So, I know this is something you have all heard a million times probably; the church isn't a building that you go to on Sundays, the church is the body of believers. We all know this except we don't live this way, that's why we don't like church, that's why people say things like "I don't need to go to church as long as I have a personal relationship with God". Church is supposed to be so much more, and so much less, than this institution we have created, I think this is why I have such a negative image of large churches. It's great that a church's numbers grow and they are blessed with more and more people attending, why are they really there though. I think if we are really honest with ourselves we would see that most of the church consists of consumers and spectators who happily sit on the sidelines taking what they like and criticizing the rest. I have definitely been a part of both of the aforementioned groups, on some level I wasn't even aware of it.
Let's be honest it makes us feel good to go to church on Sunday, somehow that make us feel like we can check God off of our to do list for the rest of the week. We listen to a sermon about how much He loves us (and He does) and it make us feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Every once in a while there is a convicting sermon or two in there where you leave either making a decision to change, that will likely last a day or two at best, or you criticize the Pastor because you don't like feeling convicted, I don't know how that was ever enough for me. Satan loves these kind of Christians because in their hearts they are serving satan and on the outside they are proclaiming the name of Christ, all we really are in that case is servants of satan that call ourselves Christians and cause others around them to receive a wrong image of what the church and Christians are supposed to look like. We can't serve two masters, you love one and hate the other, regardless of what you say the truth is in your heart.
I really don't like to bash the church, I think we have all heard a lot of this and in a lot of ways we know what the problems are. I also believe that there are a lot deeper issues going on that no one is talking about, we are talking about the outside of the bowl when the inside is filthy and that's where we eat from. So, I really feel like what I am saying isn't just complaining about things that I can't or won't change, I'm not complaining about anything actually, I just want to see the church get remotely close to the way God intended it.
The church is supposed to be a community, a community of believers in Christ that strive everyday to walk with Him. People that know that they are sinners in need of a savior and they live like it everyday. It doesn't mean we don't make mistakes, we are definitely still sinners, we just put our everything into loving our Creator and living for Him in obedience. I have a dream of church being all around us, that you can go to your neighbors house and that's church just as much as the buildings we go to now because God dwells in us not in the building. I believe God really does meet us when we seek Him, I want to constantly and consistently seek Him and His presence. I want to see us live with people who challenge us daily to go deeper in our relationships with Him, people that build us up, people that love one another. I want to see Christ in the people that profess to be Christians, including myself. I don't want to be lukewarm, I want to be held accountable even when it's not easy, especially when it's not easy.The church should be the community we live in.
Can you imagine really living out the things you read about in the Bible, every single day. I always used to feel like church was a history lesson, and in a lot of ways it is, it's also prophetic and current and alive. I just can't imagine ever trying to live this half way, it's just not possible, you're either all in or your not. I want to see people loving, serving, and honoring each other on more than Sunday mornings. I don't want to put on a happy face for church service and pretend to be something I'm not, I want to be myself, an imperfect sinner who struggles every single day. I want to be held accountable in areas of weakness and hold others accountable in their areas of weakness too. The church should be more of a support network for people who want to live Christ centered lives. The church could spend a lot more time and money reaching out if we were living as a community together all the time because we would be stronger in Him.
I just pray for the church as a whole to become the community.
In Christ's Love,
Reed Eden
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