Short story?
Jesus didn’t come so that you could go to church; the world was already filled with assemblies when he got here.
He came so that you could live an amazingly-abundant-and-joyful life in this world ― even before having eternal life with him afterward. Do you have ears to hear what he and his prophets have said?
I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. ~John 10:10b
…the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold. ~Mark 4:20b
…Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap…. ~Luke 6:38
Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them. ~John 7:38
…but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life. ~John 4:14
And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. ~2 Corinthians 9:8
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us… ~Ephesians 3:20
It was supposed to be a mind-blowing, amazing life. Fruitful beyond imagination. Life-altering. It wasn’t supposed to be a life of spiritual/emotional scarcity and meaninglessness. Of making do. Of making the best of drab surroundings. Of trying to keep a positive mental attitude. It was supposed to be a life of inspiration, with the believer being blown away with God’s blessings, and then supporting the believers around him or her with the heaping supports of all the “one another” practices Jesus taught. Indeed! What would you expect it was supposed to be like when a God who is so far above us would stoop down to have a relationship with humankind?:
As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. ~Isaiah 55:9
Think about this: Would you expect a relationship between this amazing Creator and one of his creatures to be dull and boring and meaningless and uneventful? Or should it be pretty amazing? Amazing. Surprising. Challenging. Mind-stretching. Soul-stretching. Discovering. Fascinating.
This is what God is like ― this eagerness to blow people away with blessings if they will just do as he instructs. We see it in both the New and Old Covenants:
“Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob me.
“But you ask, ‘How are we robbing you?’
“In tithes and offerings. You are under a curse—your whole nation—because you are robbing me. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it. ~Malachi 3:8-10Just as under the Law of Moses, they were required to obey the commands about tithing, under the New Covenant, Jesus expected them to remain in his teachings and love, so that they would not only “bear much fruit”, but so that their joy might be “complete”.
If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; … This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples…. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. ~ Excerpts from John 15:5-11.
It’s quite possible to go to church your whole life and never to have this rich experience. Going to church might feel nicer than staying at home alone, and you might well be able to find plenty of nice things to say about the experience, and yet never find the amazing fullness that Jesus had in mind. It can be like eating mere spiritual crumbs, rather than feasting on the riches of God.
Jesus didn’t come so that you can go to church; he came that you might have life abundantly. And even though a million churches may promise such a life and pay it some lip service from time to time, you owe it to yourself to check with Jesus often, to see if the life you’re getting really matches up with the life he promised. If you don’t want to listen to him closely, that’s on you, and you’ll likely have no trouble finding a church that promises to do the listening for you. But if you want to do it right, you’ll have to keep this in mind:
My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. ~John 10:27
He came so that you could follow him, which is quite different from merely “finding a church home”. Don’t let “church” become an idol you turn to instead of Jesus. Many have made this mistake. It was never his intention to promote an assembly of disattuned people in his name.
