Why the Body?

Posted on: July 17, 2014, by :

I recently heard some great teaching about the Body of Christ by Scott Venable of Mosaic Church in Chicago, IL.  The primary focus of the sermons that I heard was something else entirely, but the fascinating thing is, the Lord can reveal His message to you, when you are open to hearing it. 

Recently, I have been asked why church is so important.  Why do I insist that my students attend?  Why do I care if they sit together in the lunchroom? Why does it matter if they hang out together outside of school?

Honestly, I really didn’t know the answer.  I knew it was what should be taking place in a healthy church, and a healthy youth ministry, but I had only bits and pieces of information to suggest why it is necessary for them to do this.  It’s not just a suggestion…it is a must!

The answer is that we are the body of Christ.  We are bound together in His family, and we are only supplied with the Spirit when we are in constant connection with the body.  We can only bear fruit when we are connected to the vine (body), and we have no way of knowing what the Head of the Church desires of us, if we are not connected to the body on a regular basis.  (The head of the church is Jesus…btw.)

So the answer to our question of why is the church so important is that God designed it to be necessary.  We succeed because the body succeeds, and we are successful only if the body is successful. 

When I am tired and alone, I need the body!
When I have run out of time and energy, I need the body!
When Satan seems to have my number, I need the body!
When I celebrate, I need the body!
When I grow, I need the body!
When I love, I need the body!

There is not a time when I am without a visceral need for the family of God!

Stop seeing Church attendance as a thing you do to make God happy, or to keep him from punishing you for the parking ticket you got.  Church attendance is how we connect to the body of Jesus Christ and fulfill our call here on earth to be an ambassador for the Kingdom of God. 

Stop fighting the thing that was intended to give you life here on earth.