“I see no reason to go. I don’t get anything out of it.”

Have you ever heard or said that about church? I sure have.

First, the whole “go to church” thing is deeply problematic. You are the church.

Secondly, to be clear, I’m not referring to the industrial church. I hate the industrial church. It’s objective is to make money to pay people. The objective of the living church is to be the bride of Christ. I’m referring to the latter.

Lastly, “I don’t get anything out of it” is baby talk. It is tragic to “go to church” for years and never grow beyond looking for absolution and seeking the peace that comes from the assurances of salvation. At some point in our spiritual development, these things should be firmly established and we should grow from getting to giving.

Among the reasons “we don’t get anything out of it” is typically there’s just one preacher that’s doing most of the giving. That shouldn’t be, everybody should be giving. “We should no longer be children… but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head –Christ –from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies according to the effective working by which EVERY part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.” -Ephesians 4:14-16

We must move on from milk, looking just for what we can get: how I can be blessed, how I can encouraged, how I can be comforted, how I can have peace.

Our Lord did not say blessed are the peace-takers but “blessed are the peacemakers”. Matthew 5:9

So, we must grow to a stage of maturity where we are equipped to give. We must graduate from milk to meat (Hebrews 5:12) and this is the meat, “as He is, so are we in this world.” – 1 John 4:17

Christ who is our example said this, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” Mark 10:45, Matthew 20:28

Giving is the mark of our maturity, that we bear fruit and the fruit that we should bear is love (Galatians 5:22).

Our Lord commands, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:34-35

So, I pray that our minds would be renewed concerning our approach to church, that we would move from thinking in terms of what we get or don’t, but instead what we can give and that being love. #perfectourlove