Church membership vs family
The following is an excerpt from Chapter 5 of a mini e-book "KINGDOM ABC" written by Rebecca Tereu. This chapter explores the reality of being part of the Family of God. His own special forever family, where everyone is welcome through salvation, but not everyone discovers or accepts this invitation. The way we do FAMILY in the Kingdom of God is usually through the apple of Christ’s eye – His beloved church. With thousands of churches and denominations to choose from its hard to know which way to turn. But if you are looking for a local family of God to belong to then here are some things to consider....
Being part of a local church helps you in so many ways.
There is something special about being in unity with like-minded spirits. It’s not often talked about, but it is real and it underpins everything. If you’re considering going to church or are on the hunt for a new church, the best advice I can give you is this:
First and foremost MAKE SURE that you are able to locate the heart of Christ in that place.
This is the number one priority and it is usually expressed and demonstrated through the people, worship, and word. Not the flash crèches or children’s churches. Sorry, these should not be your primary measuring sticks, although as a mother of a young boy I completely understand why this may attract you. So should you really be looking for the best, well equipped building that serves your emotions and physical desires? Or the biggest church in the neighborhood because big is always better right? Or even the closest building to you, because convenience is the key to an exciting and fulfilling journey – right?
Or should you really be looking for your spiritual home? Right or wrong?
This pilgrimage deserves much precious thought and spiritual discernment. If your heart is right and you are genuinely seeking the right place for you and your family then God will reveal that right place in no time. You will know it when you step into it because it will feel like home. It’s a beautiful thing I tell you! Beautiful - but not necessarily easy! Being grafted into a vine isn’t always a comfortable feeling, and like I mentioned before, how deep you go depends on what you believe about yourself, the people around you and how you choose to outwork this.
If you are a Sunday Christian and that works for you and fulfils your sense of purpose and belonging, then that’s entirely your choice. Your place in heaven as a saved soul is reserved. If you want to go further and explore the many levels of life on earth as a Christian then the key is to understand exactly who you are; Your identity as a son of God. (Ephesians 1:4). From this foundation you are therein able to be discipled and even better than this, equipped to disciple others.
This discipled life I speak of requires a SON (male or female) to embody total love, submission and obedience to ANYTHING God requires. It requires you to lay your life down - a biblical ideal many Christians talk about, but fail to fully enter into. Why? I’ll give you the very short and simple answer;
IT’S HARD!
It’s hard not to make your life all about you. Well put it this way, it’s definitely not easy, and many people simply cannot locate that level of selflessness and self-sacrifice.
No wonder really. We live in a world that has conditioned us from birth to believe “it’s all about us”. Of course this all depends on where you come from. Some people in other countries are just concerned with mere survival, making it through another day, feeding their dying children etc etc. But here in NZ, and I dare say other westernised 1st world countries, we are predominantly centred around ourselves. Whether its discovering and living out our dreams, achieving a measure of success, making sure our families are taken care of, to chasing the ever illusive and very temperamental “happy”. And for the record, there is nothing wrong with searching for happiness, but if finding a feeling that lasts more than five minutes is your only goal in life then you have set yourself up to fail. And here’s the thing - God actually knows the desires of your heart (Psalms 37:4). He knows what is important to you, and He has been known to look after those who truly put Him first (Matthew 6:33). Hello!! This is our Daddy God we are talking about. But you can’t say that you have laid your life down, have submitted your whole life to Him, are obedient to His will, and plan to live and die for Christ, and not be truly willing and able, to actually walk it out.
Walking it out often requires us to cleave to like-minded people who share the same spirit, heart and desire to see the Kingdom come. If you can find those people then you have found a blessing. Christ and His bride (the family of God) is the answer to this world. When we find Christ, and become Christ-like a few things happen. Firstly, we inherit what is His (Ephesians 1:11 / Romans 8:17). Secondly, we are given the authority to speak and act on His behalf (Psalms 2:7 / Matthew 16). We are also able to help other people find Christ, and they are then able to do likewise. We then become one big Christ centred family, and together this family of God becomes a governing force to be reckoned with (1Peter 2:9).
I think we can all agree now that there is something powerful and beautiful about the origins and institution of “Family”. It truly is the vehicle which God uses to administrate his love, grace, and will, both in the heavens and earth. The family of God came from the Word of God – before anything else existed. We have been around for a VERY LONG TIME. And here’s the thing; the enemy knows ‘family’ is on the heart of our Father God.
From the beginning of creation the principle of family was targeted because it was so powerful. Division was brought between the original family on earth; God, Adam and Eve, when Eve was tricked into compromising her family. Then not long after that, the brothers Cain and Abel were targeted. Keep reading the scriptures and see more of the same - and no wonder! Family is important. There is nothing on earth or in heaven like the family of God.
The full version of this e-book and the rest of this chapter is free to download HERE
Go back to blog home page
There is something special about being in unity with like-minded spirits. It’s not often talked about, but it is real and it underpins everything. If you’re considering going to church or are on the hunt for a new church, the best advice I can give you is this:
First and foremost MAKE SURE that you are able to locate the heart of Christ in that place.
This is the number one priority and it is usually expressed and demonstrated through the people, worship, and word. Not the flash crèches or children’s churches. Sorry, these should not be your primary measuring sticks, although as a mother of a young boy I completely understand why this may attract you. So should you really be looking for the best, well equipped building that serves your emotions and physical desires? Or the biggest church in the neighborhood because big is always better right? Or even the closest building to you, because convenience is the key to an exciting and fulfilling journey – right?
Or should you really be looking for your spiritual home? Right or wrong?
This pilgrimage deserves much precious thought and spiritual discernment. If your heart is right and you are genuinely seeking the right place for you and your family then God will reveal that right place in no time. You will know it when you step into it because it will feel like home. It’s a beautiful thing I tell you! Beautiful - but not necessarily easy! Being grafted into a vine isn’t always a comfortable feeling, and like I mentioned before, how deep you go depends on what you believe about yourself, the people around you and how you choose to outwork this.
If you are a Sunday Christian and that works for you and fulfils your sense of purpose and belonging, then that’s entirely your choice. Your place in heaven as a saved soul is reserved. If you want to go further and explore the many levels of life on earth as a Christian then the key is to understand exactly who you are; Your identity as a son of God. (Ephesians 1:4). From this foundation you are therein able to be discipled and even better than this, equipped to disciple others.
This discipled life I speak of requires a SON (male or female) to embody total love, submission and obedience to ANYTHING God requires. It requires you to lay your life down - a biblical ideal many Christians talk about, but fail to fully enter into. Why? I’ll give you the very short and simple answer;
IT’S HARD!
It’s hard not to make your life all about you. Well put it this way, it’s definitely not easy, and many people simply cannot locate that level of selflessness and self-sacrifice.
No wonder really. We live in a world that has conditioned us from birth to believe “it’s all about us”. Of course this all depends on where you come from. Some people in other countries are just concerned with mere survival, making it through another day, feeding their dying children etc etc. But here in NZ, and I dare say other westernised 1st world countries, we are predominantly centred around ourselves. Whether its discovering and living out our dreams, achieving a measure of success, making sure our families are taken care of, to chasing the ever illusive and very temperamental “happy”. And for the record, there is nothing wrong with searching for happiness, but if finding a feeling that lasts more than five minutes is your only goal in life then you have set yourself up to fail. And here’s the thing - God actually knows the desires of your heart (Psalms 37:4). He knows what is important to you, and He has been known to look after those who truly put Him first (Matthew 6:33). Hello!! This is our Daddy God we are talking about. But you can’t say that you have laid your life down, have submitted your whole life to Him, are obedient to His will, and plan to live and die for Christ, and not be truly willing and able, to actually walk it out.
Walking it out often requires us to cleave to like-minded people who share the same spirit, heart and desire to see the Kingdom come. If you can find those people then you have found a blessing. Christ and His bride (the family of God) is the answer to this world. When we find Christ, and become Christ-like a few things happen. Firstly, we inherit what is His (Ephesians 1:11 / Romans 8:17). Secondly, we are given the authority to speak and act on His behalf (Psalms 2:7 / Matthew 16). We are also able to help other people find Christ, and they are then able to do likewise. We then become one big Christ centred family, and together this family of God becomes a governing force to be reckoned with (1Peter 2:9).
I think we can all agree now that there is something powerful and beautiful about the origins and institution of “Family”. It truly is the vehicle which God uses to administrate his love, grace, and will, both in the heavens and earth. The family of God came from the Word of God – before anything else existed. We have been around for a VERY LONG TIME. And here’s the thing; the enemy knows ‘family’ is on the heart of our Father God.
From the beginning of creation the principle of family was targeted because it was so powerful. Division was brought between the original family on earth; God, Adam and Eve, when Eve was tricked into compromising her family. Then not long after that, the brothers Cain and Abel were targeted. Keep reading the scriptures and see more of the same - and no wonder! Family is important. There is nothing on earth or in heaven like the family of God.
The full version of this e-book and the rest of this chapter is free to download HERE
Go back to blog home page
