“Why do we go to church?” the twelve-year-old girl asked innocently. The answer is difficult at best to put into just a few words. I will try but I’m not a person of a few words. 😉 Why do we take our kids to church?
If truth were told, it’s hard for the most devout Christian to get up and get the whole family dressed and to church on time without a small war breaking out in the home.
So why do we do it, why do we go to church?
I think in order to understand the answer we need to ask ourselves the hard questions. Just like Jesus asked His Disciples in Luke 9:20 “But what about you? Who do you say that I am?”
Here is my top 10 answers to, “why do we go to church?”
10. We ARE the Church
The Bible says we, who “have confessed with our mouths that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead” (Romans 10:9-10), ARE The Church. The people are the living breathing Body of Christ (Eph. 5:30) in this world. Each of us who believe in Jesus as our Savior are indwelt with the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 6:19) and we are the Church.
We are to be the hands and feet of Jesus here on earth until Christ returns to take us to live with Him forever. The church is NOT a building we go to or a denomination but the Church is who we are as believers.
9. God created us to worship
John 4:23-24 says, “Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit and His worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.”
We are called to worship Him. Our souls long to worship Him. We were created to worship. Humans hunger for worship. If they do not worship God, they will worship others things and never fill that “God longing” or “God-Spot” He placed in every person. Their life will be a miserable, unfulfilled shell always longing and never satisfied.
8. God wants to be known by us
King David wrote “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart,” Psalm 37:4. He knew the importance of worship. Notice it doesn’t say God will give you everything your heart desires. It says if you make Him your delight and desire, He will answer THAT desire. James 4:8 tells us that if we “come near to God He will come near to us.” God longs for us to come near to Him. He loves us and wants to be fully known by us.
7. Jesus loves us
Can we know Jesus and have a relationship with God without going to church? Absolutely. Our relationship with Christ is personal and expressed when we admit that we are sinners and accept the free gift God gave us when He sent His only Son, Jesus Christ to die in our place to pay the penalty for our sins (Rom 3:23). But it would only the beginning of the love story He wants to have with us. Hebrews 10:25 states that we should not stop meeting together because we will need to encourage one another more and more as the Day of Christ’s return draws near.
6. We love Jesus
Corporate worship is one of the expressions of our love for Jesus. We gather together to worship and adore Him. We disciple each other, love each other, care for each other and hold one another accountable as we strive to become more like Christ. When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, He sends the gift of the Holy Spirit to be our Helper and Counselor (John 14:16, 26). As a Body of believers, we use the gifts He’s given us to take care of each other and pray for each other. When we live a life abandoned and sold out to Christ, we want to use the gifts the Holy Spirit gives us to show our love and appreciation for what Jesus did for us.
5. We want others to know Jesus
We all have Spiritual gifts to grow the Kingdom of God. This means they aren’t for us to use selfishly or for our own profit. We use them to help others come to know God through faith in Jesus. John 3:16 so beautifully says, “For God so loved the world, He gave His one and only Son. So that, whoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life. I don’t know about you, but it breaks my heart to have the cure for death, pain and suffering and keep it to myself and not share it with those I love. That would not be love at all.
How do we share our faith? For most people, it scares the pants off of them to be asked to tell someone about Jesus. It should be the easiest thing in the world but it makes most of us break out in a sweat. Sometimes it is not through words at all; it may be through kindness and generosity to those in need.
The man born blind in John 9, who was healed by Jesus, was asked who said Jesus was, he answered, “One thing I do know, I was blind but now I see…. if this man were not from God, he could do nothing.” Just tell what He has done for you. The Holy Spirit will do the rest. Salvation is not our job. It is the job of the Holy Spirit. We can rest in that. Our job is to be willing to speak or serve when the Holy Spirit prompts us.
4. This world is hard
We all need help to live in this world. People are mean. The world is full of hate, anger, selfishness, and greed. The only way to exist in it is to learn how to walk closer to God, to become more like Christ. We have to learn to live in the world and not be part of the problem but to become part of the solution. That doesn’t happen over night. In fact, we will all work on that until we see Jesus face to face. It sure helps to have the support of our church family as a refuge during hard times.
3. Faith overcomes Fear
Those without faith live in constant fear and anxiety. Those of us who have Christ still have fears but we know where to take those fears so that they don’t overwhelm us. Fear is not of God but a weapon of the enemy. 2 Tim. 1:7 is one of my favorite verses, it says, “God did not give us a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-control.” Being part of a church helps us to overcome fear.
2. Out of Obedience and Joy
We do it out of obedience. It is #4 of the “BIG 10”, the ten commandments, which says, “Remember the Sabbath day and keep it Holy” Ex. 20:8. People have become desensitized to God’s voice and have no fear of Him. Without rules and boundaries, people are sad, fearful, anxious, and frustrated. This goes back to reason #9. We were created with a “God spot” our soul longs to have filled.
God knew what we needed when He created us. Going to church and keeping His commands fills that longing He placed in us and that desire so we can know Him and have the desires of our heart, which should be Him. He says to remember the Sabbath and keep it Holy because He loves us and wants us “to have life and live it to the full”, John 10:10.
In John 15:10-11 Jesus tells us, “If you obey my commands you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed m Father’s commands and remain in His love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete”.
1. We are family!
Ok, I know some may argue that this shouldn’t be the #1 reason. But hey, it’s my list so I can say what I want. Lol! Of course, the main reason we go is to worship God but some argue they can worship at home watching church on TV or listening to a podcast. That is true. We should live a life of worship.
I worship constantly. When I see a bird flying or a butterfly, I am in awe and wonder at God’s creativity and beauty. When I watch the waves crash into the sand on the beach, I am amazed at why they stop where they do.
Church is about worshipping with God’s people. I love His people. We need each other. It is like going to your daddy’s house and seeing all of your brothers, sisters and cousins. They have been there for me through good times and bad times. I see them more than my biological family. When you are bonded by the blood of Jesus Christ and pour into each other’s lives, you become Spiritual family.
Jesus gave us the church as a gift to help navigate this life with like-minded people. Just like our biological family, we may get on each other’s nerves sometimes but when push comes to shove you have each other’s back. You share a history together and become woven together like a tapestry. You can’t tell your story without telling part of theirs.
So, to that sweet 12 year old or any year old for that matter, I hope this helps in some way to understand the importance and joy of having a Spiritual family. I love mine. What about you? Do you have a church family?
It’s a gift you should give yourself this Christmas season.
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