The Fellowship

Too many persons - including Christians - think of church as an obligation. It's something God expects of us. It's something the rest of the church expects from us. It's something the world expects from us. 

And when church is an obligation, it can also kind of be a drag. 

Sorry. Can't do anything else on Sundays; have to go to church. Can't go to the family thing; have to go to church. Can't watch the football game; have to go to church. And when we start to think of church like this - like a non-negotiable obligation - it becomes a burden. 

In reaction, a not-small number of Christians have realized that actually, no. Church is not an obligation. In fact, they've decided that God doesn't care if they go to church at all. So...they don't. They join sports leagues on Sunday mornings, travel their kids all over the region, sleep in, attend football games, do the grocery shopping. Whatever they want to do. 

And...they're not wrong. Church is not an obligation. 

But it's a gift. 

The church gives us something that we don't get anywhere else in the world - a fellowship. In fellowship, we are brought together in a way that is unique to the church. 

In the church, we can worship. We can look around us and see others worshiping. We can let it get down into our heart because, for a brief moment in time, it's far less likely to be assaulted by the world. 

In the church, we have persons who pray for us. We have persons who believe in the power of God as much as we do...and they keep believing when we are too weary to hold on to our own faith. 

In the church, we have both different and similar perspectives on the things we're all looking at. We're looking at the same Bible, the same Jesus, the same God, the same basic trajectory in life, the same eternity...and yet, because of our differing experiences in the world, we all have a unique perspective on it. So we are able to show one another things others might not see...and we are able to be shown things that we might not see. That's how our faith gets deeper. 

In the church, we expand our data set. What we know about God is one thing. What we see God doing in our lives is one thing. But when we see God doing those same things, and more, in the lives of others, we get an even bigger view of God. We realize exactly Who it is (to the best of our finite ability) that we're worshiping. We understand a bit better Who loves us and what love looks like. 

The truth is that you'll never understand God, learn God, love God on your own the way that you can when you're embedded in an authentic fellowship. Period. No matter what this culture has tried to sell you. 

So no, you don't have to go to church. But you get to go to church. It's one of God's amazing gifts to you. If you aren't partaking of that gift, then you might have to ask yourself - what else is God trying to give you that you're missing out on?