.
Is Your Church
Alive?
Written by John Grant
“For the word of God is
alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to
dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and
attitudes of the heart.” Hebrews
4:12
Seeing
the commissioning of a new naval vessel is a wonderful sight and experience.
Amidst
all the pomp and circumstance dockside, the ship is moored at the dock, quiet
as a church mouse and not a sight of a single person aboard.
Then at the appointed time someone says: “Officers and crew of the (name of vessel),
you may board and bring the ship to life.”
Then
the crew comes running from behind the audience and boards the ship. It
literally comes to life, as the crew scurries to their assigned duty stations.
When
I witnessed such an occasion, I could not help but think of the church.
As
a ship alone is nothing but a mass of steel, so too is the church more that
bricks and sticks. Neither has any potential until complimented with a crew.
Once
I was speaking with a pastor whose church had burned to the ground.
When I commented that I was sorry that he had lost his
church he replied, “We lost the building
and we will rebuild; the church is doing fine.
Like
a dark and crewless ship, the church without its members, alive and active is
nothing but a dark and vacant building. The congregation is its crew and the
team that makes it alive.
One
reason why we need to be connected to a church family is to fulfill our calling
to serve other believers in practical ways.
The Bible says, “All of you together are Christ’s body, and
each one of you is a separate and necessary part of it” (1 Corinthians 12:27 NLT).
Your
service is desperately needed in the Body of Christ – just ask any local
church.
Each
of us has a role to play, and every role is important. There is no small
service to God; it all matters.
There
are no insignificant ministries in the church.
The
point is that we all need to get on board and bring our church to life.
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