«I will whistle for them and gather them, for I will redeem them». Zechariah 10:8
ACCORDING TO THE BARNA GROUP, an evangelical Christian polling firm, it has become increasingly common to meet people who assert they know the Lord, who are firmly committed to the Savior, whose faith is sincere, but who nevertheless don’t want to have anything to do with the church. They identify themselves as those who «love Jesus but not the church.» They think they can have a close relationship with Christ while not attending church.
Author, Craig Groeschel identifies those who say they love Jesus but not the church as «atheist Christians,» who claim to love God but live their lives denying what God has stated. Can you be a Christian and reject the church?
The New Testament very clearly says Jesus is the founder of the church. In fact, the basic meaning of the word ekklesia, from which the English word «ecclesiastic» derives, is «assembly or assemblage.»* The church, then, is an assembly of people; it does not refer to a single individual, but rather to a group of individuals. There is no Christianity unless it’s lived out in connection with others. The essence of the Christian experience finds its climax when «two or three are gathered,» because the Lord is «in the midst of them» (Matthew 18:20).
As St. John of the Cross said in Sayings of Light and Love 1:7, «The virtuous soul that is alone and without a master is like a lone burning coal; it will grow colder rather than hotter.» The church is the means God has established on this earth to keep our spiritual life burning by studying, praying, and strengthening each other.
When someone decides to believe, their faith has made them join a community of believers that comprises Christ’s church. In that sense, the church is the group of people who gather because they have heard God’s call and received God’s message; it’s all those who have paid heed to the calling inviting us to be free from the world’s bondage.
Zechariah’s promise is fulfilled in the church: «l will whistle for them and gather them, for I will redeem them» (Zech. 10:8). If you have heard that whistle, then come and gather with the redeemed who meet at church.
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Taken from: Devotional Readings for Adults 2023
“I AM WITH YOU”
From: J. VLADIMIR POLANCO
Collaborators: Lorina Maya & Avineyda Hernández
