At your church, does everyone look like you? Do they all wear the same type of clothing?\u00a0 Does everyone have the same skin color?\u00a0 Does everyone make roughly the same amount of money?\u00a0 Do most members have the same level of education?\u00a0 Probably not.\u00a0 The interesting thing about church is that it brings together people who are very different.<\/p>\n
We don\u2019t otherwise have that experience in our lives. We tend to choose friends who are like us.\u00a0 We work at jobs where we typically have a common level of education and income.\u00a0 Even in our own families, we tend to be very similar (and those who don\u2019t fit in are given the term \u201cblack sheep of the family\u201d).<\/p>\n
The beauty of church is that it forces us out of our comfort zone of solely dealing with people like us. For instance, at my church our members have a wide range of political views.\u00a0 There are people with intellectual and physical handicaps.\u00a0 We don\u2019t share the same skin colors or incomes.\u00a0 We are all so very different.<\/p>\n
Admittedly, sometimes those differences are uncomfortable. I tend to be very politically liberal.\u00a0 I also am theologically flexible.\u00a0 I\u2019m not concerned about what religion people practice, as much as whether they are consistently kind to others.\u00a0 At my church, there are people with whom I am on the same page.\u00a0 But there are also some very dogmatic people, the \u201cit\u2019s my way or the highway\u201d sort of folks.\u00a0 That doesn\u2019t bother me.\u00a0 What ties us together as a church isn\u2019t a common viewpoint.<\/p>\n
Instead, what binds us together is something very unique. It is more than a belief in the Apostle\u2019s Creed.\u00a0 Frankly, one can believe in the Apostle\u2019s Creed and never feel inclined to step into a church.\u00a0 Rather, what binds a church together is a belief that while we can worship God and read the Bible separately, something very powerful happens when we do that together.<\/p>\n
When we go to church we are inspired to make the world a better place because we are surrounded by people who have that same agenda. We are spurred on to try to become better people because we spend our time together talking about that very subject.\u00a0 You aren\u2019t going to have that experience at a country club.\u00a0 Nor will you have that experience at a bar.\u00a0 You probably won\u2019t experience that at your workplace, or at your family\u2019s Thanksgiving dinner.\u00a0 Church is the one place where our common denominator is a belief in God and in fulfilling His will on earth.<\/p>\n
There is a lovely hymn that I grew up with that epitomizes that special something that happens when we worship together as a church.\u00a0 It is called, \u201cBlest be the Tie That Binds,\u201d and it is one of the nicest hymns ever written.\u00a0 I include the words below, so that you might enjoy the author\u2019s sentiment as much as I do.<\/p>\n
“Blest Be the Tie that Binds”<\/strong> by John Fawcett, 1740-1817<\/p>\n At your church, does everyone look like you? Do they all wear the same type of clothing?\u00a0 Does everyone have the same skin color?\u00a0 Does everyone make roughly the same amount of money?\u00a0 Do most members have the same level of education?\u00a0 Probably not.\u00a0 The interesting thing about church is that it brings together people…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":593,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-197","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n\n
\nOur hearts in Christian love;
\nThe fellowship of kindred minds
\nIs like to that above.<\/li>\n
\nWe pour our ardent prayers;
\nOur fears, our hopes, our alms, are one,
\nOur comforts and our cares.<\/li>\n
\nOur mutual burdens bear,
\nAnd often for each other flows
\nThe sympathizing tear.<\/li>\n
\nWe suffer bitter pain;
\nYet, one in Christ and one in heart,
\nWe hope to meet again.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"