Let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do,
but encourage and warn each other, especially now that the day of his coming
back again is drawing near (Hebrews 10:25, NLT).
Dear Friends,
Sometime ago, while on a flight to Chicago,
I was witnessing to a fellow
passenger. During the conversation, I pointedly asked, "Are you a
Christian?"
He replied casually and flippantly, saying he wasn't very
religious. Though he used to attend church, he said, he didn't anymore, and he
wasn't particularly interested in spiritual things.
Then I asked him if he would like to live in a community
where there were no churches. He looked at me a bit startled and exclaimed,
"Of course not!"
"Did it ever occur to you that you are a parasite?"
I asked.
"What do you mean by that?" he demanded.
"Well, you want all the benefits of the church and
Christians in your community, but you are not willing to contribute
anything," I explained.
He sat silently for a moment, then replied, "I'll be in
church on Sunday."
The most important and influential institution for the good
of mankind in any community is the church of our Lord Jesus Christ, which
exalts Him and proclaims His holy, inspired word, the Bible. The church is
God's salt and light in the world.
No, there is no perfect church anywhere, because it is made
up of human beings like you and me who have not yet been glorified. But where
He is preached, the Perfect One is present, and that is good enough for me. You
have heard the old saying: "If you find and attend a perfect church, it
will become imperfect as soon as you walk in the door."
God ordained the church to be His body upon the earth. Yes,
those who for physical or other reasons who cannot be a part of a local church
are still a part of His body, but God places importance on His corporate body,
where we can serve and be served, where the whole is synergistically greater
than its parts, and where in unity a greater impact can be made than through
individual efforts.
God said, "Let us not give up meeting together, as some
are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another -- and all the more
as you see the Day approaching" (Hebrews 10:25, NIV).
Like the man on the airplane: Be in church on Sunday!
Yours for helping to fulfill the Great Commission each year
until our Lord returns,
Bill Bright
