Church Isn't For You

This blog about marriage is going viral on Facebook at the moment. Its a great read, and makes an excellent point: marriage is about the person you married. Rather than self, marriage is an expression of giving oneself for another.

Talking about this today a wise colleague pointed out that the same concept should apply to church: Church isn't for you!

His thinking in a nutshell is that rather than joining a church for what you can get (the worship, the teaching, the fellowship with like-minded others etc.), it is about the person you are effectively marrying (i.e. Jesus) and his purposes.

Since Jesus' purposes are about the whole of humanity (in fact the whole of creation), that is going to mean you join the church for an outward focus: going out to the lost one rather than the ninety-nine etc. etc. Yes, the truth is church really isn't for you!

And as with the original marriage blog post there is the same paradox. As we spend ourselves for Jesus and his purposes the more we receive. Sure, there will be those times when we are net receivers. Certainly in those pre-wedding days of unbelief where your local church reaches out to you, which also extend into that early period of new faith and nurture.

Yet as you grow to love Jesus and his church you should transition to a new understanding of the body of believers around you: the church isn't for you!