What I Love About the Church

This post was originally written for Preacher's Pen. Be sure to check out this awesome website by Chris Gallagher!

To me there is really only one answer to the question, "what do you love about the church?" It's the people. One of my earliest memories of church is being in bible class and learning the poem complete with hand signals, "Here is the church and here is the steeple, open it up and see all the people!"


Without people the church loses its purpose and reason for existence. In Romans 12:4-5 (NIV) Paul explains the church in this way, "Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others." The Contemporary English Version (CEV) says it this way, "A body is made up of many parts, and each of them has its own use. That's how it is with us. There are many of us, but we each are part of the body of Christ, as well as part of one another." I love the thought expressed here, that while there are many of us we each individually make up the church.


I think sometimes we miss out on all that church has to offer because we have failed to understand this all important element of relationship in the church. Consumerism has turned the church into a business relationship where people search for the perfect organization with the most to offer. This was never what Christ envisioned when he established his body of believers on earth. It was only when I finally understood this aspect of the church that I was able to begin to fall in love with the church's people. I was never able to love a business model no matter how shiny it was but falling in love with people was something that just came naturally.


Granted, some people are easier to love than others but it is also true that some people need more love than others. I love the church because no matter how bad things get in my life here on earth I know that people's prayers are streaming heavenward on my behalf, no business model can replace that! I love the church because no matter how difficult things may become I know that there are real live actual people who care and who act because we share a common love for Jesus Christ.

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. (1 John 3:16-18)