see I have been having this feeling like God is displeased with me because I haven't been to a church. and I know that's a ridiculous feeling to have but... it's still there.
I guess God has made somewhat of a confirmation of the ludicracy of that thought. It's just funny to me. I feel like church is such a necessary part of being a christian, which is true, but I also feel like we have a misconception of what church is. see to me church feels like going to a building as a ritual part of sunday. but what if we did church in a park? or under a bridge? (check out http://www.churchunderthebridge.org/) or in a dorm room?
I can't help but think that the feeling that we are out of God's favor because we didn't go to "church" the building, is a result of the church's exsclusivity environment. I would much rather agree with the statement that we are out of God's favor because we aren't BEING the church.
would you agree?
I guess this revelation comes from witnessing a couple of friends who DID go to church this morning as opposed to my NOT going to church this morning, getting into a heated discussion over the pettiest of subjects.
toilet paper.
one of my friends (well call him fred) made a smart aleck comment about my other friend's (we'll call him george) fascination with the fact that he found a key to unlock the toilet paper dispensers in the bathroom. I started to laugh at the whole thing until I saw how seriously they were both taking it. george locked us BOTH out of his room (funny because I wasn't even a part of the argument) and when he finally let us back in fred started taking all of the stuff he let george borrow out of george's room and putting it back into his.
both brothers in Jesus and yet both fighting over the most insipid of subjects. how come they were so okay going to church today but when they got home they started fighting? over something as ridiculous as toilet paper might I add!
are you starting to get my point?
church isn't a place or a point in time.
it isn't a part of our lives...
it is our lives!
- giving
- loving
- eating together
- praying for each other
if we look at the church in acts 2: 42-47 the text says that they did all these things and more. it says that:
"all who believed were together and had all things in common.
and they were all selling their possessions and belongings
and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need."
it later says that they were praising with generous hearts (kinda makes you wonder if there's more to the word generous than we think... or praising...) and then in verse 47 "having favor with all people"
wow... there's a thought. a lot of the modern christian thought is that we have to be out there in people's faces to prove a point. to be branded a radical for Christ. and that if we are ridiculed or made fun of that we are being persecuted and Jesus likes it when we are persecuted. not to say that persecution doesnt' come with the territory. but sometimes I think we have no idea what it means to be persecuted. to be called a name.... that's a small thing in comparison with paul's chains.
no here it says they found favor with ALL people... wow. that's a task that's hard to accomplish. maybe the writer was exagerrating a bit but the point was that the church was a widely accepted organization. it was branded as friendly and welcoming (see the last part of verse 47)
what has happened to it?
what has happened to the church that God intended?
The Church that Jesus started?
and how can we contribute to it's growth?
to it's re-establishment.
not of a power over but of a power of another realm?
the realm of heaven?
