What Is Church?

Lately, I have been wrestling with the notion of church.

• Is there a right way to do it, a wrong way to do it? 
• How do the actions, reactions, and interactions of the members affect the way that the church is seen? 
• Why do we differentiate between one church or another? 
• Aren't we ALL part of the body of Christ? 
• How do we determine what is tradition and what is right?

The only thing that I have come up with is this: FAMILY. The church is supposed to be your family, is your family. How often do we treat some members with love and respect, yet refuse to extend it to others? How often do we actually get to know our fellow believers in a way that we can encourage them, pray with them, cry with them, and laugh with them? 

A Little Background:

I grew up going to the same church for my entire life. They quickly became my family, and I will always consider them as such. It was very hard to move away to college: I would miss my family deeply. How could I join somewhere else and leave them? Lately, though, that family has changed. Some have moved away, some have moved in, and others have gone to be with Jesus. With all of these changes, it has been hard for me to connect with the church. I just want my family back. I don't want the change, and I happily admit my selfishness.

In all of the gatherings I have been to, I never thought of each as a part of my church. But Jesus had other plans. Through His unending love, mercy, and grace, my hard heart has been softened. I am able to love my family once again. My family may not be in the same situation, but it has grown! God knows how much I love the idea of large families, and He has given it to me in a way that I would never have expected. My church is not the one that I grew up in or the ones that I am attending now. My church is BIG! It is as big as the WORLD! My church is the one that Jesus desires! 

We are one body! 

United with Christ, through Christ, and by Christ! 

We are the CHURCH, and we are ONE FAMILY!

I think the best way that we can be the church is this: Laugh so hard with one another that we clench our stomachs for the pain, cry with one another because one person cannot bear the emotions alone, sing with one another because our voices are stronger when we are united, pray with one another because Satan holds no power when we remain founded on Christ, and rest with one another because it is good for the soul.