Studies have shown that being part of the church is good for your health both physically and spiritually. A February 2018 Time magazine article cites a comprehensive study that found “regular service attendance was linked to reductions in the body’s stress responses and even in mortality.” The article went on to say, “If a long life is what you’re after, going to church may be the answer to your prayers.”
Some people claim they love Jesus, but they just don’t love Christians. Yet how can they love God, whom they can’t see, when they can’t love his people, whom they can see? If you love God, then you will love his people. In fact, 1 John 3:14 says, “If we love our brothers and sisters who are believers, it proves that we have passed from death to life. But a person who has no love is still dead” (NLT). God gives us a love for the people who are a part of the church.
And frankly, not going to church is proof that something is wrong with us spiritually. We’re told in 1 John 2:19, “These people left our churches, but they never really belonged with us; otherwise they would have stayed with us. When they left, it proved that they did not belong with us” (NLT).
The closer we are to God, the closer we’ll want to be to his people. The further we are from God, the further we’ll want to distance ourselves from his people. If you find yourself feeling uncomfortable around Christians, then maybe there’s something wrong with you spiritually.
I think the problem is that we sometimes treat church like a movie theater. When you’re going to a movie, you know about how long the trailers will roll. Even if you get there late, you’ll still be able to see your film. Then, if you’re like me (and I have to admit that I do this), at the end of the movie I’m out of there. I don’t want to deal with traffic. When the credits are rolling, I walk out of the theater.
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