BE THE CHURCH

Greet also the church that meets in their home....

(Romans 16:5)

Yesterday in class we discussed the apostle Matthew (the once-despised tax collector) who responded to Jesus' call to "Follow Me." It wasn't the haste with which he followed that most got our attention. Most of us in the class could relate to Matthew's discovery that all this life has to offer (even all the money and authority he must have enjoyed) is not enough to satisfy the deepest longing of our hearts, so we, too, responded to the Lord's invitation to follow after Him. But it was Matthew's response to those around him...namely, the sinners and tax collectors who were his friends and cohorts...that jarred us. He invited them all to a grand dinner (that was according to Luke...Matthew didn't call attention to the kind of party he threw) so they, too, could meet the Savior.

As we talked about our hesitation to share Christ with those in our work and social surroundings, we were reminded that, as believers who share the reality of Christ IN us, we cannot departmentalize our church/work/social/family lives. In a sense, where we stand is holy ground because Christ is in us, and His presence is real and permeates our lives.

Therefore, as we go about our daily lives, we are the church. We simply meet together weekly at an address called Champion Forest Baptist Church. It is not the other way around. The four walls (or however many make up our amazing campus) do not a church make. WE are the church...the body of Christ. And we are to BE the church every single day, in every single circumstance we find ourselves.

So, I was thinking...what if we were to spend far less time being concerned about FINDING the "perfect" church (or stressing about the things that fail to make our church perfect)...and instead decided to to spend far more time BEING the perfect (maturein Christ) church? I wonder if we would be out there like Matthew, throwing a party for Jesus and inviting the most unlikely guests of all to meet the same Savior who gave us a reason to celebrate. I feel a little Silly String comin' on...