Where Did The Church Go?

An indisputable characteristic of the church, as established by Jesus, is unity: unity in purpose, unity in fellowship, unity in worship, and much more. His plan has not changed.

On the other hand, one of reoccurring enemies of this unity in the church is focus on self. The early church was most effective when it could be said that they had "all things in common." But, then as now, the temptation to "serve self" threatened the church.

Sometimes a member of the Lord's church can be heard speaking of the church as "it" or "they." To often it is a result of not being "happy" with the state of a particular congregation. The truth is that every member is responsible for the solution to the problem. And the solution is never brought about without obedience. That obedience will lead us to seek, and find unity through the "positive" process of the Holy Spirit.

Perhaps the level of our joy is directly connected with that obedience to the positive instruction of the Lord. When the church seems strangely "absent," it is often pursuing self-fulfillment. Perhaps we need to refocus.

Jesus never intended for the child of God to be an independent loaner, pursuing his or her own way to purpose. We cannot be disobedient to His will and expect to maintain the meaning, purpose and vitality we need. Has that been your attempt? We are so intertwined that we cannot help but affect each other, for good or bad. The way we affect each other is up to us. "For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ." (1 Cor. 12:12)

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