The importance of the church family.

So, I took a mini vacation to the northern city of Sheffield. As a man from the south of England that’s never left the south, it’s a shock to the system in the best way. Now after spending a weekend away, and seeing a good friend of mine. (https://ardentword.wordpress.com/ if you haven’t checked out his stuff already, I highly recommend it!) I’m refreashed and ready to get back to doing what i love, writing, and allowed me to think about this weeks topic.

I was walking from my hotel around the centre of town, I had a chance to reflect on the past few years since I became a follower of Jesus, how I’ve changed as a person, how my confidence has improved, and how my faith in God has grown.

The reason I mention this at the beginning of a post about the importance of the church family in a Christian life is a simple one. If God hadn’t placed me with these wonderful people that support me I wouldn’t be half the person i am today. Being a part of the church family is extremely important at me at least. Meeting up with other followers of Jesus that love him just as much as you do, talking to those longer in the tooth in terms of their faith at least, and getting to know more of God’s ways through what they’ve been through. Finding those that you really seem to bond with, and building friendships from there.

That’s not to say everything will always be perfect in terms of church life. Because at the end of the day we’re all still human. The church may be the body of Christ on earth, but we’re still a body of human flesh, and in turn we still have our faults, and we may upset each other on occasion, and there may be people we don’t get along with. But we are still family,  we’re still a part of one body, we don’t always have to agree or always get along, but we must stand together. As it says in 1 Corinthians (1:10 -13)
“I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people there is quarreling among you, my brothers. What I mean is that each one of you says, “I follow Paul,” or “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Cephas,” or “I follow Christ.” Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?” Sometimes we get so caught up in the goings on of the church building (myself included of course) about who’s doing what, and who does the best sermons, that we forget why the church is Christ isn’t so much about the people in it but about us as a family, ready to live out the will of God on earth. We need to be willing to leave our egos at the door and be willing to humble ourselves like Jesus did when he died for our sins.

With all this said.I want to focus on the word “Family” because that’s what we should be. We can disagree, as long as there is love in the disagreement. We are brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers, uncles and aunties in the name of Christ. And a family never leaves anyone behind. Because we are bonded in a love for each other and a love for God. Having that family that I know i can go to if I’m struggling, in sin or in life, having a group of people i know i can pray with if i need the support, has helped me grow in my faith and in my life. Church can be a difficult place to be, but that doesn’t make in any less important.

So I want to thank all of my wonderful church family that support me in these blogs, and in my life. I love you all, and i want to thank you for reading. If you have any suggestions for a topic be sure to let me know. Keep searching for the light and May God bless you.

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