Being the Church

Christmas time is a special time for many people for all kinds of different reasons.  You don’t even need to believe in Jesus to have the Christmas holiday be a significant event in your life.  But as the church, Christmas for us should be different.  Christmas offers us a great opportunity to be the church.

The word “church” in our culture has a few different meanings.  To some it is a building set apart to practice religion; to others it is a religious activity to attend.  But neither of those views aligns with how the Bible uses the word “church.”  In the New Testament the word translated as church always refers to a group of people never to an activity or a place.  The church is the community of followers of Jesus.  That means being part of a church has to do with who I am not an activity I attend. 

Christmas time offers the community of believers a special opportunity to impact the lives of people who are far from God.  Few of us need more activity in our lives but many of us need true community.  People were created to be in right relationship with God and one another.  Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus, where God came to earth as a living and breathing person.  The birth of Jesus represents the beginning of our opportunity to be joined with God and other people in real community.

For followers of Jesus that means, Christmas is time to invest in other people by being the church.  What are some ways you can be the church this Christmas?