The house of God is not restricted to a building; a church is not merely a building. Despite the pandemic this year that has stopped us from attending the church physically, it has not stopped us from fellowshipping and worshipping as the body of Christ. The church is a sacred and holy body for us believers.
Given that it is holy and sacred, there are definitely rules that we need to follow to worship our Heavenly Father, and if we don’t, we are considered rebels. We need to attend the church and fellowship in Christ’s terms, not based on our own fleshy and worldly terms.
As a real bible believing church, we tend to not conform in legalism, abiding only to all the regulations, but not preaching the full counsel of God; neither are we trying to be an anarchist.
The Church is Absent
When the leader or pastor is absent, people take the job less seriously, because they are too dependent on the leader to run the show. In actuality, everyone should take responsibility to carry out their own duties regardless of the presence of the leader.
1 Timothy 3:15 But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.
Take ownership of our agenda for God, always ask ourselves, ‘Who can I serve or help today as a child of God?’
Matthew 13:34-36 All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them: That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world. Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field.
The Church is Aware
This simply indicates that we need to be aware of our conduct and behavior in church and among members of the church. Even though knowing that we are full of flaws and it is easy for us to yield into temptation, we ought to strive for perfection in terms of our walk with God and that should be reflected in our behavior.
One way to show good behavior is to pay attention to people around us towards their needs and problems. If we fail to do that in the simplest way, it’s a display of our self-centeredness and pride.
Let’s be reminded that true J.O.Y is putting Jesus first, others second, and yourself last. This is because Jesus put all of us first when he died for us at the cavalry.
People who put themselves first are not only prideful but tend to get depressed more easily as well, because they’re ‘all about me’ attitude will always seek for methods to fill the empty void within.
If we always make our best attempt to improve on our character’s imperfection, we will be able to also improve on our communication and relationship with people not only at church but outside the church as well. All we have to do is to find a balance between being open but holding back at the same time when it comes to bonding with others. In other words, if we are too reserved, we may miss the opportunity to build solid bonds, but if we are too closed, we may create more unwanted friction in the relationship.
The Church is Alive
1 Timothy 3:15, the church is not a legalistic dead house, it is a representation of the living God. It’s alive and sacred, which includes fellowship and service. Similarly, there should be a fine line and balance between solemnness and liveliness, if there’s no holding back in throwing jokes around the church, then it can easily be perceived as a carnal church. On the other hand, a solemn setting without liveliness will not bring the members close together as well.
A sacred and holy church should be the one that allows all types of practices without boundaries, neither should it be extremely nitpicky in people’s behavior too.
The Church is Authorized
The church is filled with veracity and truth, which is also the foundation for us to seek God’s wisdom.
Our Lord will lead us to a more fulfilled and joyful life if we just change the deficiencies and imperfections in our character.