The List: Checking it Twice

I wonder if it is fair to say that some people are never content. Paul once said that we should be content at any state. I’m not sure if many people who mention their servant-hood to God actually know what it means. Often times I’m faced with circumstances that make me take another look and ask myself “What am I doing? Is this serving God?”

I hope that everything in my life is blended and God runs through every part.

I observe, with my heart, people that see God with this precise checklist. The checklist contains items or programs that must fall in-line just for him to present. You ask to be present where?
Present in “church”. Could this checklist even contain particular people? What if it contains the particular behavior of people?

I can’t help but think maybe God has other things in mind that goes against a checklist. What if God wants us to understand that the church property isn’t as holy as we believe it to be? Would we be able to grip such thoughts?
What if God expects his church to be only people?
Shouldn't the church by a group of people assisting each other with life?
Seeking God and in return receiving a purpose that is visible.
What would this group look like?
What would the leader look like and what message is he speaking?

How did a church building ever come into the picture? Did it start when Israel came from Babylon after the years of captivity? How poetic that Israel would use multiple community buildings given to them in captivity to maybe enslave people into a religious behavior. Maybe a church building became popular and holy as to protect the instructions God gave Moses while building the Tabernacle here on earth. We can read how Solomon presented the sacrifice and dedicated the new temple to God. In response God’s glory pushed everyone out.

Fast-forward back to today. I’m finding that Jesus died for more than just sin. He died for freedom from many things. We can worship him whenever and wherever we please. The best part about it is we don’t need a building, temple, synagogue or turn toward a certain direction. What about the church building, the altar, the carpet and the front entrance way? I mean we need a place for God to come dwell, right? Think about this for a moment. Just for a moment. It’s not about the place we expect God to be. It’s about the place God’s wants to be, in our heart. Buildings are torn down and rebuilt all the time. Hearts belong to lives that aren’t torn down but need mending when broken. Jesus is about the heart of the church not the building to capture Him. Jesus freed us from the building when he went to heaven and placed his blood on the altar. Have we, as believers, made the church building into an item of worship? Is the church building our statue? Maybe it's our curtain that keeps God in His holy place and us in our place? Knowing God is down the road, in the church, makes us feel safe. Perhaps we feel better when we can give God a clean, food free, drink free, drug free, problem free and smoke free building. Once we know the building is in a tip-top holy condition we’re able to come see Him once or twice a week. Oh, unless I have something better I need to do. God understands. Make sure the building stays holy. Right. What are we serving? -Chuck