When someone says, I love my church - what do they mean? We have been told from childhood ; that the church is not the building - it is the people. But we must go farther than that. It is a body of people, who live in Christ and love their Lord. How do we show love to our Lord. We reach out to him in prayer and worship. We reach out to him who dwells in each one of us who know him and love him. We also reach out to those who reject him or who have not found him.
No one can completely understand God but we can find confidence in his love for us and be affirmed in each ; other. That should mean that we can exchange different points of view as we grow together. We should show compassion in word and deed to those who know him and especially to those who have not yet found him, remembering always that our Lord speaks and moves through us.
This does not mean that the church building cannot mean a great deal to us. It is a special place where we come together to worship him and be with each other and I rejoice to see it being cared for.
I knew a lady in England who owned a beautiful home in the country. On the property, was a very old barn. ; As a child, she liked to go and play there because she sensed a holy atmosphere of quiet and peace. When she grew up, she learned up that the barn was a place where persecuted Quakers would go to hide and have prayer together. She later turned the old barn into a retreat house where many people came to enjoy the sense of God's presence in worship and fellowship together.
So, why do 1 love my church? I love it because it is my family who meet together from time to time in one holy place. We love each other and empower each other for the enrichment and care of others. Let us reach i out to those, both inside and outside our church family remembering we are all persons created by him who made us in his image, redeemed by Jesus Christ and empowered by his Holy Spirit.
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