It was one of the most blessed visits I have ever made. I just came from the home of an elderly woman whose husband recently passed. I will conduct a simple memorial for Kay (Her given name is Shizoka) at her husband's grave tomorrow.
What made the visit so blessed was the remarkable story of her journey with the Lord. She told me of her dramatic conversion to Christ at age 17 (in 1950) in Japan of all places. Her father judged that her Christianity would last no more than 6 months. A few years later both he and Kay's mother were gloriously saved by Christ. They died in Japan and awoke in heaven by the grace of God.
Kay met her husband as she was teaching at a Christian school in Arizona. Mac was there constructing buildings for the school. They soon fell in love and married. But sadly, Mac fell away from his Christian faith for 50 plus years. But four years ago as the frailties of old age made eternity imminent, Mac took stock of his life. Whatever your theology says about such returns, unquestionably God brought Mac fully back to Himself. Kay served her husband during those years by claiming and living 1 Peter 4:1-6. Indeed, God won Mac over through the inner beauty of Kay's life. The last four years were glorious for the couple as they studied God's Word and served people together. By being the church in their small valley, they turned distant neighbors into a community, which is the effect of every healthy church.
But here is my point. Neither Kay nor Mac had darkened the doors of a church (except perhaps for weddings and funerals) for 50 plus years. Kay, as many wives do, didn't provoke her husband by attending during his wayward years. Even after his return to the Lord, they did not attend any organized church. They simply were the church in their valley.
Thus the question: is it best to go to church or be the church? Scripture says it is best to do both. Hebrews 10:24-25 (NIV) 24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. 25 Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching. But if one must choose or does choose, it is far better to be the church than go to church. By loving God, loving people, and serving both outside the walls of the church building, people's hearts and lives are truly changed. On the other hand, one can go to church for years without ever making a difference around him or her.
My conclusion: Let's do both. But let every meeting together, teach and motivate us to be the church in the valleys where we live. Thanks, Kay (and Mac) for a wonderful lesson today.
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2 comments:
This was a good one dad. I agree with you 100%. Too many people use doing one thing as an excuse not to do the other. Instead they are compliments of one another and go hand in hand.
We are learning the same kinds of lessons in our urban church right now. We are really trying to teach each other what it means to be the church and within the church. I really think that each of us have been called seperately to be the church. In other words my calling/tasks/responsibilities are strictly my own, but at the same time I am to be a part of a larger community. After all, I am but a sheep looking for my shepherd.
One of the things about her story as a person that has grown up in the church 100% of his lifetime is that there is a tendancy to judge that she never came back to church. However, my new experiences now lead me to ask "is her 'church' what God has intended all along?" Presuming that she did gather with fellow believers in her home and corporately gave praise to God and further delved into the scriptures encouraging and correcting eachother in love, isn't that what being a part of Christ's body is all about? Forget the building and "Sunday School" and the prelude followed by announcements followed by three songs (two standing up one sitting down) followed by the sermon and the invitation. The true Acts church mentioned none of this. I think her version is much closer to truth than the majority of "churches" today.
Great post, Dad.
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