People are the church — not buildings

Taupo Times, Volume 23, Issue 61, 1 August 1974, Page 4

People are the

church — not buildings

It must be most confusing to the average person when they see so many different churches all claiming to represent the worship of the one true God. It should be understood that there is in reality one only church throughout the world, and the Bible has a very beautiful name for it. It is called "The body of Christ." It consists of all those in every place who call upon the name of Jesus Christ as Lord. To make sure we all understand that distance is no barrier to this, the Bible adds — "Both their Lord, and ours." In New Zealand, or in Taupo, he is our Lord: in any other part of the world he is theirs. The one church which the Bible calls "The body of Christ" does not, therefore, consist of a building of wood or stone, but of living people: people who

own their allegiance to Christ. They belong to him, and they gladly yield obedience to him as Lord. This is not just once a week on Sundays, or when they go to church, but every moment of every day of their lives. It could best be illustrated by the way God intended a true marriage to be: the giving of each other to each other, in total, and for life. The Bible says that such married people become one. Those who belong to Christ in this way are called "members" — not members of any particular Church group, but members of the body of the Lord Jesus; they can never be separated from him, or from one another. It can, therefore, be readily seen that of all the various church groups, no single one of them can claim exclusively to be the church in Taupo. How then can anyone become a member of this very wonderful church, and become increasingly satisfied that they have not made' a mistake? The God of the Bible reveals himself to ordinary people through a personal acquaintance with the Lord Jesus Christ. Being a member of a church group may help towards this, but it is by no means essential. Those sufficiently interested may discover this for themselves if they are prepared to give a little of their time every day to the reading of the New Testament, in a prayerful attitude. The only problem lies in our priorities; what" do we consider to be the most important aspects of life?

The effect will be intensely practical, for any form of religious belief which cannot be expressed in terms of every day living is spurious. In our search for truth, the Lord Jesus demands honesty of purpose. We cannot play fast and loose with the son of God, and he will challenge us at every step if we are sincere, and ask him to take control of our lives. As professing Christians we may "deceive one another with our pious platitudes, but if we genuinely want him to be Lord at all — he most certainly will insist on being Lord of all. It is only natural that those who have discovered that the very basis of life itself is to know that they belong to Christ, will want to meet together. They will want to pray together, to sing together, to encourage one another, and to talk together about their Lord. This is not because they belong to any particular church group, but because they really do belong to Christ, and they know it. One only church in Taupo. Not a building of wood or stone, but people. People with warm loving hearts who belong to Christ, and who are delighted to obey him as Lord. Whenever you come across a company of joyful, happy people who this description fits; no matter where they meet, or what name they are called, you may be quite sure that you have found a part of the one church in Taupo.

D J.

Rickards.