The Church is the foretaste of the coming Kingdom of God. It is the most precious living entity on Earth today and we are fortunate to be part of it. When the church gathers, the Lord is in her midst (Matt 18:20). This shouldn't be a mere assumption or a vague idea, but rather, the fact that the living God is in our midst like every person gathered in the name of Lord should be our firm belief. But, most often we search the altar, or ponder over some message to vaguely feel the presence of God and in reality living Christ is in our midst.
Church is the right setup to experience the presence of God where saints gather to glorify God and help others to glorify God effectively. There is no other place on earth where one can experience Him richly. When I attend the church, my focus is not on the material, physical stuff, but the invisible but definite presence of God. The physical and material things are nothing but expressions to worship God in the spirit. He is not even at a distance from me as far as the altar, but He is near me and He is in my spirit. These words should not be a mere soothsaying, or an objective wish, but rather, a real experience because it is the truth.
Church is the right setup to experience the presence of God where saints gather to glorify God and help others to glorify God effectively. There is no other place on earth where one can experience Him richly. When I attend the church, my focus is not on the material, physical stuff, but the invisible but definite presence of God. The physical and material things are nothing but expressions to worship God in the spirit. He is not even at a distance from me as far as the altar, but He is near me and He is in my spirit. These words should not be a mere soothsaying, or an objective wish, but rather, a real experience because it is the truth.
When we see the church as an Entity which is already in the Heaven (Eph 2:6), we will start appreciating it because the Lord is in her midst. We know that God resides in an inexpressible glory, in the middle of an unapproachable light (1 Tim 6:16). When God is among the people who have gathered in his name, He is in such a glorious state. If only we have a vision of the glory that we are participating, we will lead our church life with a joyous trembling as we are experiencing something that is more real and meaningful than our own lives. When we fail to see the true vision of the church, we would engage with the fellow believers in a careless, evil and in a futile worldly way. Our conduct in the church is not a matter of being an exemplary, rather respecting the presence of God in a real way. May God grant us the vision of the church life and how much He has blessed us to become part of His holy Church. Hallelujah for the church life.
