Marc Estes

Before we even start our post discussion today,  pause for a moment and ask yourself these questions: “Do I love my local church?” “How passionately involved am I in both serving and supporting my local church?” Hopefully, these questions are more of an encouragement than an exhortation.

What if we were to ask Jesus the same questions today? “Jesus, do you love the Church?” Scripture answers that one quickly, “Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her” (Eph. 5:25, TNIV). Next question: ”Jesus, how passionately are you involved in serving and supporting the local church?” Again, Scripture answers, “Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them” (Heb. 7:25, TNIV).

It seems pretty clear. Jesus died for the church, and He also lives, always interceding, for her. Jesus loves the Church. As a young boy at the age of twelve, Jesus’ parents thought He was lost, so they went on a massive search to find him. Three days later they found Him. Where? In the Jewish Temple! He said to them, “Why were you searching for me? Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” (Luke 2:49, TNIV). His answer states the obvious. Why would you even consider looking anywhere else but in the Temple?

On many occasions Jesus referred to the Church as His bride. I have been to many weddings in my life, perhaps hundreds. While the crowd stares at the beautiful bride walking down the aisle, my eyes are set on the groom. Oftentimes he is crying, overwhelmed with emotion, as the love of his life walks down the aisle to be presented to him. As an illustration to help us attempt to comprehend Christ’s love for the Church, God compares it to a man’s love for his bride. In his book, Stop Dating the Church, Joshua Harris says, “Is it possible that God didn’t get His inspiration for loving the church from marriage, but the one reason He created marriage was to illustrate His love for the church? God invented romance and pursuit and the promise of undying love between man and woman so that throughout our lives we could catch a faint glimmer of the intense love Christ has for those He died to save. What a passion He has for His church. The strongest argument I know for why you and I should love and care about the church is that Jesus does.”

Many interpret the passage of scripture in Ephesians 5:22–33 to be Jesus speaking about the Church (big ‘C’ Universal), and I would agree with them. But this must also be interpreted in context to the components that make up the big ‘C’ Church, which is the small ‘c’ local church. Jesus loves His Church, and He loves every local church. We are to love it the same!

Reasons Why We Need the Church

We are not only to love the church, but we really need the church! Rick Warren says, “A Christian without a church home is like an organ without a body, a sheep without a flock, or a child without a family. It is an unnatural state.”  Without a local church, our lives are incomplete. You may have needs that aren’t being met through your local church, but God intends for it to provide the following needs:

• An environment of spiritual growth.
• An atmosphere of God’s presence.
• A place to belong to a genuine community.
• A family to help meet your needs.
• A place of covering and protection.
• A place for accountability and safety.
• A place for wisdom, direction, and counsel.
• A place to make a difference.
• An opportunity to pour your life into others.
• A safe atmosphere to raise families.
• A place to give of finances, time, and energy.