Monday, August 25, 2008

The Church, not a church

If you been to church for any period of time, you've probably heard the passage in 1 Corinthians about one body, and many parts(1 Corinthians 12:12-).  In this passage from his letter to the Corinthians, in its context I think paul is referring to personal gifts we all have, and how they all have to work together, and how each one is as important as the other.  
However, I also see a strong message to churches across the world, especially the western world.  I think that having a place to worship is an AWESOME thing, and I for one LOVE my church home.  I just fear that us Christians have become too obsessed with OUR church, when in reality, we are all THE Church.  In verse 13, Paul rights 
"for we were all baptized by one Spirit into ONE body-whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free-and we were all given the one Spirit to drink"(i added the big letters)
Why does it matter that one Church sings hymns, while another plays hardcore? Why does it matter if my pastor has tattoos and wears sandals and a tee shirt to preach, while yours wears a suit and bow-tie.  We make a choice as to what worship we attended, and what part of the community of Christ we are involved in.  I just pray that we, in loving our church home, have not lost sight of what we really are, and that is ONE body.  We should love our neighbor churches, even when they are different.  When we believe and are redeemed by the same Jesus, He has called us to be ONE body.  I pray that we remember that.

1 comment:

Jay Grant said...

It's disappointing when people get too caught up in their own personal preferences and lose sight of what Jesus has commanded us to do.

I'm glad you feel this way about the church needing to actually behave as one body, and I hope that more people start learning that.

Thanks for this.