Strutting About Like The Little Idiots We Are

One of my favorite passages from Mere Christianity...

"We must not think Pride is something God forbids because He is offended at it, or that Humility is something He demands as due to His own dignity--as if God Himself was proud. He is not in the least bit worried about his dignity. The point is, He wants you to know Him: wants to give you Himself. And He and you are two things of such a kind that if you really get into any kind of touch with Him you will, in fact, be humble--delightedly humble, feeling the infinite relief of having for once got rid of all the silly nonsense about your own dignity which has made you restless and unhappy all your life. He is trying to make you humble in order to make this moment possible: trying to take off a lot of silly, ugly, fancy-dress in which we have all got ourselves up and are strutting about like the little idiots we are. I wish I had got a bit further with humility myself: if I had, I could probably tell you more about the relief, the comfort of taking the fancy-dress off--getting rid of the false self, with all its 'Look at me' and 'Aren't I a good boy?' and all its posing and posturing.To get even near it, even for a moment, is like a drink of cold water to a man in a desert." 

--C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

Longing Heart

Painful longing after longing,
Indulging, yet not satisfied.
This weary heart of longing,
What will gratify?

Hopelessly empty I be,
Though I fill and I fill,
I am a cistern broken,
An eternal heart born ill.

A wretched, joyless desert i strode,
Crying out for a stream of refreshing.
Frantic searching all of my days,
But no solace found for my wrestling.

Glimmer, sweet glimmer,
Just beyond yonder hill,
A raging, eternal spring,
Beacons, "Come have your fill.".

How pure, how sweet,
This flowing river of delight.
How have I never heard
Of this living water, called Christ?

Infinite, matchless, beautiful...
Words could never measure
The fullness therein,
This costly ocean of pleasures.

The price is more that i can give,
Yet, One has gone before,
Securing this wanderer's place,
At the Fountain forevermore.

Yet, longing and wanting,
Feeble heart still yearn,
For inferior delights,
Feeding on worms.

Return, oh wanton heart
to the place of true delight!
Give no quarter to the inferior,
Fight for Joy with all your might.

Slay all that compete for affection,
Don't be fooled by misdirection.
Arise, look up from the fray,
This illness, this war will be stayed.

A day comes and will be soon,
When struggle will meet it's tomb.
Infinite appetites will be infinitely satisfied,
In His blood this promise ratified.

Hold fast, oh weary soul,
For He will not let you go.
The victory is not yours to gain,
King Jesus has overcame.

Why Join A Church?

When I became a follower of Jesus, I thought church membership wasn't taught in the bible. It's easy to understand how i came to this conclusion. There is no verse in the bible that says you have to come down front after a sermon and fill out a card. No verse that said i had to be on a roll somewhere to be a Christian. It seemed to me to an area where the church had become a social club and that you had to get your name in the database in order to vote and participate in the politics. Though sadly some of those things are a reality in many churches, i had missed one very important thing. The call to church membership is subtly woven throughout the pages of the new testament.

Language of Church Membership
The entire new testament calls ever believer to church membership. Imagine if I wrote you a letter and said in it "I want to give you everything I own". You would read that as anyone should, that I am expressing a desire to give every possession I have to you. Likewise, if i write you a letter and say "i want to give you ALL everything i own", you will read the letter and you will know that i want to give my possessions to you and to whoever else the letter is addressed, or at the very least to the persons(s) that I knew to be with you. In the same way the new testament is written to a collective. Just by the thinking through the language used, we can easily see that church membership is not just commanded, but it's assumed every Christian is a member of a church.

One Anothers
There are over 50 instances in which the bible calls the original readers (church members) to "love one another", "honor one another", "instruct one another" and on and on. The vast majority of the new testament's original audience were churches. Furthermore, the new testament is full of instruction on church leadership, exhortations to orderly church gatherings, references to corporate worship, public and private teaching,  prayer gatherings and much more. Even when 1 Corinthians 13 (one of the most popular wedding scriptures) defines how love effects our interaction between two people, it was not written in regards marriage, but rather church members interacting with one another.

A New Command
So it's no surprise to read that 1 Corinthians 13 speaks of this interaction in such a way, when we read the Lords command in John 13.


"A new commandment uI give to you, vthat you love one another: wjust as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” - John 13:34-35


So our motivation in church membership is to engage in a love relationship with other believers in a local church. Why? To lovingly obey King Jesus for one, but also that people might look at this diverse (sometimes motley) group of people and marvel at their love for one another. How they walk through this life together despite ethic or socio-economic backgrounds. How they sacrifice to provide for one who is in need. How they put the good of others over and above their own wants and desires... laboring together through this life with the common passion to love God and enjoy him forever, together. That a watching world might see us savor and be enticed to taste and see that the Lord is good.

Yes, my friend, church membership is thoroughly-biblical and it is a sweet delight for all who would avail themselves.







Some of the One Anothers:

“Be devoted to one another in brotherly [and sisterly] love. Honor one another above yourselves” (Romans 12:10).

“Live in harmony with one another” (Romans 12:16).

“Stop passing judgment on one another” (Romans 14:13).

“Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you” (Romans 15:7).

“Instruct one another” (Romans 15:14).

“Agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you” (1 Corinthians 1:10).

“Serve one another in love” (Galatians 5:13).

“Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love” (Ephesians 4:2).

“Be kind and compassionate to one another” (Ephesians 4:32).

“Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs” (Ephesians 5:19).

“Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ” (Ephesians 5:21).

“Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another.  Forgive as the Lord forgave you” (Colossians 3:13).

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom” (Colossians 3:16).

“Encourage one another and build each other up” (1 Thessalonians 5:11).

“Spur one another on toward love and good deeds” (Hebrews 10:24).

“Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another” (Hebrews 10:25).

“Do not slander one another” (James 4:11).

“Love one another deeply, from the heart” (1 Peter 1:22).

“Offer hospitality to one another” (1 Peter 4:9).

“Clothe yourselves with humility toward one another” (1 Peter 5:5).

“Greet one another” (1 Peter 5:14)

“If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another” (1 John 1:7).