Why should we go to church?
There are so many things that pull us away from church these days and very few that encourage us to go, so why should we go to church? If you think about it, going to church requires a commitment and a series of small decisions any of which could keep us away. First, you have to decide Saturday evening that you are not going to sleep in on Sunday. Then, you have to decide not to spend a leisurely morning reading the paper, watching television or even going to the beach (or any number of other activities that compete for our time). Finally, you have to decide to get in the car and drive to church. Any of these distractions could easily convince us to skip church; besides you work hard all week - you need a time of rest, right? So the question is still there: Why should we go to church?
Ignoring for a moment that in several places God, the creator of heaven and earth, tells us that the Sabbath is for worship, we go to church because it is through worship that God renews us, molds us and makes us into a community.
Church is the place where we find meaning
Vickor Frankl, holocaust survivor, MD/PhD psychologist from Univ. of Vienna, professor at Harvard and Stanford wrote in his book, Man’s Search for Meaning, that “The more one forgets himself-by giving himself to a cause to serve or another person to love-the more human he is and the more he actualizes himself.” Our meaning is found outside of ourselves, when we choose to skip church we focus on ourselves, when we go to church our focus shifts to God and the community even if only for an hour.
Church is the place where are formed
Church is where our identity as Christians and as Christ’s body is formed and practiced (through activities such as reciting the Apostles’ Creed weekly, practicing prayer, learning the Bible). Paul tells us in Romans that our faith comes from hearing the word in worship (Roman 10:17 - faith comes from hearing and hearing from the Word of God). In church we are built up by hearing the Word of God proclaimed. Going to church is an opportunity to practice living out our faith by being a blessing for someone else (who knows who will miss us if we are not here), by forgiving and loving each other.
Church is a community that needs us
When we combine our prayers and spiritual strength in worship God accomplishes amazing things through us. (Lev. 26:8 - 5 shall chase 100, a 100 shall put 10,000 to flight). When we do not attend church we deprive the whole community of our spiritual strength. Rightness with God requires vertical and horizontal alignment (1John 2:9-10 - whoever claims to be light and hates his brother is not of the light, whoever loves his brother abides in the light). We can’t be right with our brothers and sisters, and if we are not here our brothers and sisters cannot be right with us. If we are to be the body of Christ the body needs each member to function properly.
We cannot be a Christian by ourselves
Many people tell themselves that they don’t need church since they can pray and study the Bible alone, but Bible says we should not be kept apart from fellow believers. We become like those we spend our time with, and if we do not gather with fellow believers we cannot be molded into the body of Christ. Together we can help each other overcome life’s problems, alone those problems overwhelm us. We need each other to hold each other accountable for failings and to help one another grow toward what God desires for each of us. The three pillars of our Christian life are prayer, Bible study and fellowship with believers; try removing one pillar, have you ever sat on a two legged stool?
This Sunday morning, where will you be? If you are not in church, know that God and your friends will miss you and the blessings you offer.
God bless you, Adam