I have not been a regular church attendee for almost 5 years. Recently I have grown the desire to find a church family to be a part of. Mostly my desire is to be around other Christians, so that I can grow in my faith.
I have been attending church with my husband for the past 2 weeks. We chose a church by 'googling' chuches in our town. The one we chose happened to have a Pastor of whom I have seen in the past, so I thought it would be a good choice.
It is not the sermons I want to speak about, but the Church Family itself.
Looking back I do not feel like there is an emotional connection with that Church. There was 1 lady that said hi to us and welcomed us. We could have taken the initiative to introduce ourselves but didn't.
When you first meet someone, you don't love them. You barely know them! And the next time you see them you will probably not remember their name. It takes time and relationship building before you actually start to feel love towards them.
But Jesus said to "love your neighbours as yourself". How are we supposed to do that! I guess neighbours could suggest that you know that person and it is not the first time you are meeting them. But how are you supposed to emanate love to everyone around you? How are you supposed to make those new comers at church feel the love?
How are you supposed to live your life like this song:
We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord
We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord
And we pray that all unity may one day be restored
And they'll know we are Christians by our love, by our love They will know we are Christians by our love
We will work with each other, we will work side by side
We will work with each other, we will work side by side
And we'll guard each one's dignity and save each one's pride
And they'll know we are Christians by our love, by our love
They will know we are Christians by our love
By our love, by our love
And they'll know we are Christians by our love, by our love
They will know we are Christians by our love
We will walk with each other, we will walk hand in hand
We will walk with each other, we will walk hand in hand
And together we'll spread the news that God is in our land
And they'll know we are Christians by our love, by our love
They will know we are Christians by our love
By our love, by our love
And they'll know we are Christians by our love, by our love
They will know we are Christians by our love
This unity seems impossible to me. I would love to find a christian community where this love is so apparent. I would love to have people to look up to and learn from and trust.
I am not sure if I will be able to find this immediately. I think it is something that has to be built gradually. And I hope that one day my children will know their christian family and know the love that Jesus speaks of.
There are many people that are blessed with a strong christian family already, and thank you God for that. I can't wait until everyone in the world is united! That will be a glorius day.
If anyone has stories or suggestions on how to seek out a Church Family I would love to hear them!
We'll soon be looking for a new church too. We've been out of church since July while we're building ourselves a house in a new town. I can relate to this post! Prior to July we had been on the church hunt for almost a year. I think I'm learning that just because I'm not currently a member of a church I must remember that I'm still a part of the body of Christ. That alone puts a lot of the responsibility on my shoulders in building relationships with other Christ followers, even if I don't really know them yet. Even knowing that though, it is still hard for me so I really appreciated this post. The same exact things have been heavy on my mind too. I really want my kids to grow up surrounded by Christian friends and family like I did.
ReplyDeleteI "just happened" to stumble across your blog from another blog I read regularly! God be with you on your search! Celeste
The best way i find to connect with people and build that community is to get involved. if we simply show up for church sunday mornings then head out right after its done we are not pouring ourselves into that church and really we are not loving our neighbors. the church body works together we need ears, eyes, legs etc. for it to work. find a place with a ministry you believe in and want to help with and help! through that you will bring glory to God and connect with people as you work with them to bring glory to God. blessings on you as you search just remember not to get caught up in the "me" game. church isn't about "me" its about "others" and God. :)
ReplyDeletehey, so first off i wasnt saying that you were being selfish or focusing on yourself! just saying that it can be the case when looking for new churches. ya the key is to find a church first then get involved! if the church believes in scripture, loves God, and loves each other i think you have a great church before you! sometimes it can be easy to say, "i like the church but the worship isn't my style" or something along that line. anyway i feel as though i am rambaling. im kinda thinking this out as i go, i have always had the same church family that i love! :) God bless let me know how it goes!
ReplyDelete