Why do we bother to come to church?

I guess to answer this question, we need to answer the first, “Why do we need God? Do we need God only when our lives are in trouble and we need to seek Him? For me, each time I think about this, I recall those days as an unbeliever. I was happy about my life & led a good life (most of the time at least), but there was always something missing. I would set out to work hard to accomplish something, only to find that the sense of satisfaction and purpose is so fleeting. It is only when I learnt who God was and was attracted my His love & grace, did I know what I was missing. Pascal was right. There is indeed a God-shaped vacuum in each of our hearts which only God Himself can fill. After that, life just makes sense. If life was not eternal, but temporal, then whatever we do here do not matter. In that case, why bother? But if life is eternal, then the entire perspective changes! It is just like playing a friendly game of football versus playing in the Super Bowl. In the former, we play for the fun of it, sweat a little, but so what? However, in the latter situation our entire attitude toward the game changes. So if anyone had any reason to lead a purposeful, meaningful & driven life, it should be a Christian because we know this temporal life amounts to something in eternity. When all is said and done, it means something. We do not just disintegrate into ashes & dust. And if so, then God is important to every aspect of my life, not just when I run into problems. His Word is useful for my life, my work, my relationships, my time, my money & what not! My friends, the question is, “Do you know this source of joy, fulfillment and purpose in life?”

So I ask myself, “Why do I need to come to church?” After all, I can maintain a good relationship with God alone. In fact, I prefer to be alone! Honestly, there have been times in my walk with God that I ask this question, even now as a minister. Each time, I come back to the same answer – because my Savior commands it. It is a time when I can come together with my brothers and sisters in Christ to worship my Savior. If there is no other reason, that is good enough. 1 John 5:1-3 tells us that we display our love for God by obeying his commandments and that includes worshipping Him as a corporate body. However, there is more to it than just 1 Jo 5:1-3. Of all the organizations on earth, only the Church is called the bride of Christ. According to the Word of God, each one in the local body called the church, brings to the table a unique gift. We are to use this gift to build one another up and mature the body of Christ, the church (Eph 4:7-16)! As a body of Christ, each of us have something to contribute and when each one of us love one another as we ought, we live out God’s love for the world to see, a love and joy like no other. That is why I go to Church. That is why I go there to be involved – in the ministries, in the lives of others & try to make a difference. The kind of joy you get in return when you see a life change is so addictive, to the extent that personally, I find that it is the only endeavor in life worth my life!

Brothers and sisters , why do you go to church?