Read: Psalm 84

“But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.” I Timothy 3: 15 

Jesus died to purchase the Church. His blood redeems the soul of every believing, faithful person. This was God’s plan and design, created for His glory. Christ values the Church highly. Do you?  

Do I value the Church? I most surely do, and we are going to share the reasons we do, so that you too can be passionate about her. Of course, when we use the term church, we refer first to our local group of believers, but also in a much broader sense, we are referring to the faithful groups of believing brothers and sisters wherever they are found. I with David of old exclaim with spirit, “How amiable are thy tabernacles, O Lord!”  

I value the Church because I found Christ here, and He is the most precious thing I have ever found. He instituted the Church, so that on earth there would be a place, a body, a service, a meeting, where He could be found. I learned to love the Word of God here. Paul said, “By the foolishness of preaching men would be saved.” Why? I do not know. I only know it does happen, as the Holy Spirit gives the life of Christ to penitent souls.  

I value the Church because I found the way to walk holy here. I found a safe place to walk holy, with other godly examples. I found a pure holy companion here, who shares my life. Is this important? Check out an unholy world for one of them. This is immensely important. We also found a place to raise children for God here, a place not perfect, but adequate for them to find godly companions for life also.  

I value the Church of Christ, because we can serve Christ here. It’s a place that’s serious about spiritual life, about sin, about discipline. It is a place that has brought me back from the brink, many times.  

Take the time right now to worship God, through thankfulness for the body of Christ. Bless Christ through faithfulness. Cherish the Church by cherishing every fellow member. 

~James Baer