If all church buildings in Canada were
banned, burned down, confiscated or taxed into closure, would we refer to our
movement as a churchless Christianity? My own answer is a resounding
"No!"
In that bleak hypothetical scenario,
Christians particularly would understand and society and judicial authorities
would eventually realize that church is Christ within people; is God-filled
Christ followers, unquenchable, destined for glory. Wherever they meet, they
are church. Stop them from meeting and they still are the church.
This
triumphant outlook is possible because Jesus loves his church, referring to the
church in the feminine (her). She, the church, is his bride. He laid his life
down for her and he promised to never leave her or forsake her. Not only would
he build his church but he would also complete that work which he started. All
these promises are fulfilled irrespective of deeded properties and towering
edifices. His work with his church nears completion in remote villages, in
downtown city cores, high in mountain communities, in the squalor of refugee
camps, in the quiet of a student lounge and in the confines of a prison
conference room.
Possibly
my preferred take-away from these comments is that each reader who follows
Jesus, should pledge today to be conscious that he or she represents Jesus and
is an integral member of God's ongoing church building mission which may
involve your love, words and life touching someone else with eternal results.
Someone today may meet Jesus Christ and in that meeting find forgiveness,
peace, salvation, life, joy, hope and a new network - Christ's church. In the
instant of that surrender and faith, there is undeniable connection with the
past and the present and the future of all the believers in Jesus as Son of
God.
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