Do I really have to go to church?

This is one of those questions that I have heard from children, teens, young adults, and adults.  About the only ones I don’t hear this from is the elderly.  However, the real answer to this question is No.  You do not HAVE to go to church.    Rather you should WANT to go to church.  There are some who would say that, “Going to church doesn’t make you a Christian any more than going to a garage makes you an automobile.” - Billy Sunday  However, these words were spoken by a preacher, someone who was reminding you that you are supposed to be engaged in the events and happens of the church in order to be a Christian.  

Now if your immediate reaction is to quote the Third Commandment, You shall remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy.  Yes you are right.  Yet we should also consider what the Chosen People of God did before they were given the Commandments.  Remember there was a time when God chose Abraham and his descendants as his very own people within the world.  Abraham lived his days in faith and devotion to God.  Living his life in the promise that God would care for him and his descendants even to the point when Abraham wondered if he would even have descendants within the world.  

So there was a time in which God’s People, did not have the Law, but rather they lived by faith in the promise that God had given to them.  This led the people into the promised land, gave Abraham his sons and followed even to the point of arriving into the land of Egypt.  For many years, this was the faith that sustained the people and the relationship of God.  

Now let’s fast forward to the time in which God does deliver the Ten Commandments to the People of God.  When God gives the people the Ten Commandments and particularly the Third Commandment.  They were given for the benefit of the people.  To be reminded of the relationships with God and one another.  Therefore it was for the benefit of the people that they could follow all of the Ten Commandments including the Sabbath, to rest and dwell within the presence of God on this day.  It was for the benefit of people that God reminded them of this important aspect of their life.  To be in relationship with God, be in relationship with one another, and to rest from their routine of all their other days of work.  

From the time of the Ten Commandments, the people gathered where the Ark of the Covenant travelled.  For it was where the Ark was, there was the promise, the relationship and the presence of God among the people.  It was here that the people gathered to worship, live and be God’s People.  However, this was now a location, one that moved  freely within the world and among the people.  It did that for several generations.  It was even brought into the Promised Land of Abraham as the people returned from slavery in Egypt and returned home.  The Ark was with the people.  This constant reminder for the people, dwelling with God and dwelling with one another kept them all together as a community and as God’s People within the world.  Even as the people conquered cities and established themselves within the land that God had given to them.  

God built up the people first and then had the people build God a dwelling place.  It was through the construction of the Holy Temple that the presence of God was understood to be and remain within the world.  The Ark of the Covenant was even brought into the Holy of Holies to have the presence of God fully and completely be understood as present within this place.  Now please understand this was not the only place in which people gathered to learn and grow with God.  Often, they would gather in their homes, they would gather as a community and even offer education for those who were still growing in the basics of the faith.  This was done within smaller churches in which people would gather to learn from one another. People would attend the Holy Temple on high Holy Days, or special times within the year.

What about Jesus?  As Christians, we often look to Jesus as an example of how we should live our lives.  Eight days after being born, Jesus goes to Temple with his parents for his naming and to receive his circumcision.  Jesus also goes to church throughout his years of growing up and in times of ministry.  When he was a child, Jesus remained in the Temple and gathered in the discussions among others who gathered there.  He would go to read Scripture, share in community and even care for those who gathered there. Jesus would often go and preach there in the synagogue, a Jewish church.  Yet it was not the building that Jesus cared about but rather the people.  For Jesus would also preach to groups of several thousands but also to individuals within their daily life.  The place or the day did not matter to Jesus.  At the time of Jesus’ death, Jesus was brought to the Holy Temple, before the religious leaders and was convicted of false teachings and blasphemy. From here, he was brought before the king and Pilate, then was placed on the cross for his own death.  If you recall, within the Gospel, it notes that at the moment of his passing, even the curtain that separated the door way into the Holy of Holies split from the bottom to the top.  Even the death of Jesus, had an impact upon the church.  

Even today, the church is the place where we are able to grow in our faith, know more about Jesus Christ and our relationship with God, and it is a place that we can go to be in relationship with others. So when you ask the question of, “Do I really have to go to church?” the answer is, “No, you should want to go to church.” So that you are able to be in relationship with God, be in relationship with others who will love, care, challenge and support you on your journey within your faith, but above all so that you can love, care, challenge and support others within their journey of faith.  You do not go to church for your own sake but rather for your relationship with God and for the sake of the others who gather for worship as well.  You go to remind others that they are not alone on their faith journey, to provide comfort to them, and to speak God’s love and promise to them in their days of experiencing struggles within their life.  It is this giving of comfort, dwelling in God’s Word, and being in God’s presence that is at the heart of worship.  As you are doing this, you also receive benefit in your relationship with God and your relationship with one another.  

So go to church not expecting to receive something but rather to give something. If you are not happy with the church that you are currently in, I encourage you to first understand what is happening and why it is happening. If they are not things that you are interested in, see about starting something that you are interested in. Or if all else fails and you have tried the previous steps, then find a new church and community of believers that you can be a part of and grow with.