The church is God’s solution to acquainting the world with Christ. Of all the institutions on earth, the church is singularly equipped and commissioned to carry the message of the Gospel to the lost. The church is correctly called the Body of Christ, as it is not only a representation of Him, it is the practical working of the Lord Jesus now that He is in Heaven with His Father.

Simply put, the church is an organized body of baptized believers. The real church is not the building in which the church meets, it is literally the people who make up that assembly. We casually refer to the edifices across the world adorned with crosses and steeples, but they only provide comfortable accommodations for the church to meet.

The church has been tasked with reaching the world with the Gospel, there is no ‘back-up’ plan. If the church fails to share Christ, the world is doomed. It is no wonder that since its conception the church has been in the crosshairs of the devil. He knows that if he can keep the church from doing its job, he will stop having people escape from their destiny in hell.

The devil has been a constant threat to the church, and has found that one of his most effective tactics in debilitating the church is getting it members focused inward. If they become more concerned with things going on inside the church, they will ignore, then forget those on the outside.

One way he has learned to keep the church inward focused is by agitating the congregation. If he can get us fighting with one another, we’ll be too busy to talk to anybody about their soul. It is sad to consider how many churches are characterized not by their love, but by their fighting.

What can be done to keep the church engaged in its God-given mission? Paul spoke to that question in…

Ephesians 4:2 With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;
3 Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

Pride is the reason there is so much strife among church members. He wrote that they must reflect the lowliness and meekness of Christ. They were to focus on Him, not on themselves, or their own desires.

They were to be longsuffering, or patient with each other, realizing that we all come with shortcomings and problems. Christ is patient with us, we must be the same to each other.

And, we must ‘forbear one another.’ Simply put, it means to endure, or put up with those who are different than us. We all have certain personalities that tend to rub us the wrong way. The church must be a place where we choose to get along in the name of Christ.

Thank God for the church. Let’s keep it a place of unity and peace.