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Be The Church

Mathew 23:34-40 34) Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35) For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: 36) Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. 37) Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? 38)When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? 39) Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? 40) And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily i say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

We recently starting going to a small country church. We have tried several churches over the years, and never found one that quite fit our somewhat different upbringings in families that went to church. Some churches came close, but still didn’t fit for us. Of course, the easy thing was just to not attend church at all.

A friend of my wife is the daughter of the Pastor at this church, which is what sparked our interest to find out more. But, what really drew us in to attend the first time was this Pastor and his family’s desire to help people in their area by supplying food to those that need it. They have a program for this cause, that really shows their heart.

After attending that first time, we saw that not only were they genuine in this desire, but the Pastor’s desire to truly study the Word and allow the Holy Spirit to guide his “sermon” during the service, was something I personally had been seeking.

There a re a lot of people in the world that claim to be Christians, but do not live a life that reflects what “the Church” should be. There are far to many “Pastors”, “Ministers”, “Bishops”, or whatever title they wish to call themselves that are not preaching a message that leads people to be “the Church” that Jesus Christ intended us to be. Too many leaders and parishioners are playing church, instead of being “the Church”.

These passages in Matthew show the heart of “the Church” in a wonderful way. If you back up to verse 31, Jesus is foretelling what will occur when He returns to claim His church. All people, as referenced by sheep ( those whom followed Christ righteously ), and goats ( those that followed the world ) are separated – sheep on the right hand, goats on the left. After addressing the sheep, He banishes the goats into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.

In addressing His sheep, He gives us a picture of how “the Church” should be conducting itself. These words should strike deep in the heart of those that profess to be Christians.

There is a huge difference between attending church to give the appearance of being a Christian or a “good person”, and living a truly Christian life that follows Christ and shows the love of Christ through their actions. There is also a huge difference between those that will do these “good works” shown in these verses to gain the accolades of others, or make themselves appear Christian without Repentance and relationship with Jesus Christ, and those that have Repented of their sins and committed themselves to Christ, that are truly “the Church”.

No one knows the hour that Jesus Christ will return to claim His church. Whether you believe that time is coming soon, or in the distant future, the cost of “playing church” is far too costly to ignore. I challenge each one of us to truly look at ourselves, evaluate whether you are “playing church” or are being “the Church”.

It is time for us all to “Be the Church”!