If our goal is to truly abide in the King (as it should be for every Christian), we should treat everyone with courtesy and respect. We do this because we will be in the office with our co-workers and bosses, and also because, even if they are not yet Christians, He loves them and died for them. After all, if the King is in us, how does He want to treat them?
New covenant life includes being part of a body of believers that acts as the Lord’s body on earth. We cannot be connected to the Head without being connected to His body as well. And like any part of our natural bodies, we need to be connected in the right places. Treating others with courtesy and respect will make it easier for us to find our places in the body and fit in as we must.
Presently, more than 50% of those who claim to be Christians are not connected to a body of believers or attend church. It is true that most of what is thought of as “the church” is not His church but man’s church. Man’s church may have been built by well-intentioned men, but it is still far from what the Lord is building. Man’s church can usually be identified by having a form of godliness, but not the Lord’s power and presence. What good is the most glorious temple when God is not in it?
Many believers no longer attend a church or act as part of His body because they did not find the Lord there. Would a visitor to our church know they were in the presence of the Lord? In many places that call themselves “churches,” He is not even welcome. In Revelation 3:20, we see Jesus standing outside the door of the church, knocking to see if anyone will open to Him.
In this age, He will not go where He is not welcome, and that includes many places that call themselves “His church.” They may have a measure of the blessing of the Lord, but He will bless many things He will not inhabit. The church is called first to be His habitation.
If there are only two or three people who gather, and the Lord is with them, that can be “the church” more than the greatest cathedrals or congregations of people. It’s easy to draw a crowd with good advertising techniques. Those who are just wanting to hear a good speaker or good music are unlikely to connect with Him as members of His body so He can do His works through them. We can still learn about God and get edified in those places, but there’s a big difference between learning about Him and growing up in Him.
As we see in Acts, when anyone became a believer in Jesus, they were added to the church without exception. This is still true today. The church has a problem when most of the groups claiming to be “the church” are not following the biblical example of a true body of believers. Many new believers find one of these false churches first, then rightly leave. While it is wrong to judge anyone by one experience, if we are truly committed to following the Lord, we should keep seeking until we find a true body and can find our place in it.
Every day that passes, and as divisions among men increase, it becomes more and more vital that we find our place in Christ’s body and begin to demonstrate what loving one another looks like. If we are His believers, He has a place that is a perfect fit for us.
This does not mean when we find our right place that everything will go perfectly and smoothly. Sometimes what we need the most is the place where we will be challenged to grow the most. We need to catch a vision to use everything that challenges our needs and desires as opportunities to grow in love, faith, patience, and other fruits of the Spirit that are foundational to who we are becoming in Him.
© 2024 Rick Joyner. All Rights Reserved.
