Community.

First off, I would like to apologize in advance if my thoughts seem a little scattered. I have recently gotten so excited about this particular topic and I waited so long to post because I wanted to do it justice. I have come to the conclusion that I simply cannot shine it in the light it deserves. But I will try. Here it goes.

I am afraid what is so important about church a lot of church-goers don't know. We go to church on Sunday mornings, some of us even midweek as well, but have we ever really seen the "church" as it was meant to be seen? How many churches stand as just a building where people go for services and then go straight home? Too many I fear. 

I see people who truly believe in Christ go to church regularly looking for that hope and love promised in the scriptures. These people go and leave empty handed. They hear about how loving Jesus was, but they see no testament of it in their own lives, or in believers, or in the church. 

It is up to the people who comprise the church to show this love of the scriptures. It is when people do not experience this love they desperately were looking for that they walk away from the church and everything associated with it. They let go of God's hand. I fear the modern church focuses solely on what we might know as a "personal relationship with God." This is essential to salvation, to being a Christian. But there is also something of importance, something key, I am afraid a lot of Christians don't even know exists. Community. Ever heard the phrase "the church isn't the building it's the people"? Community and fellowship is one of the greatest things a church can offer. Salvation can make someone come to church, but what keeps them? What encourages them? Believers can learn so much about the reality of the kingdom when together in a community.

I was talking with my mother last night, and she explained how different my life has been since I started attending the church I currently go to. Most of my childhood I would go through the doors, attempt to find genuine relationship not only with God, but with others, and was, time after time, let down. I walked away from that building after 16 years with not a single person with whom I could talk about my Christian walk or what was going on in my life and very little trust in the love of God. I left looking for somewhere that could finally offer that community, and I found it. Now I can easily call the people I know through church a family, and since knowing them and being part of their lives and them of mine, I have grown incredible amounts in understanding what it means to be an actual follower of Jesus. I heard scripture about Jesus' love for us from a very young age but I never was able to experience it without a community to help me grow in wisdom.

People see the love of Christ through the love of believers. A person should not be able to walk into a church and see that it "has everything to do with how an individual relates to God and absolutely nothing to do with how people relate to one another" The words "Personal relationship with Christ" never are mentioned in the Bible. Not once. But Titus 3:6 says "Christ our Savior," John 4:42 says Jesus is the "Savior of the world " and 21 more times is Savior used in conjunction with people. It's God's design for us. We are meant for community with one another. It's important to have a one-on-one relationship with God, I am not denying that, but we are missing out if we don't utilize all God has given us.