There are certain times in our lives when we are privileged to a small taste of the ideal. In a culture of replicas and cheap imitations, it seems these occurrences are few and far between. I experienced a magnifying glass of unity this past week. At our fall retreat, men of all different ages, incomes, family situations and backgrounds gathered together to share experiences and rally around the singular desire to worship the Creator God. A deep, intrinsic part of who we each are was satisfied by this experience. God created people to connect with each other through their mutual worship and relationship with Him. This is the church. Mark Driscoll says in his book Doctrine,

“The mutual indwelling that God’s people enjoy in corporate worship is essential to our growth personally, joy collectively, and witness culturally. God’s people gather because, in the depths of their regenerated nature, the Holy Spirit gives them deep desires to worship God with His people. We want to see God’s people, we want to hear of God’s work in their lives, we want to know of ways we can lovingly serve them, and we want to be part of something bigger than ourselves that reaches beyond the mundane details of life and connects us all together despite our differences in age, race, gender, and income to seek and celebrate evidences of God’s grace.”

This is what we seek when we gather on Sunday mornings, in weekly Bible studies or together as believers in each others homes. It is why Hebrews 10:25 instructs us, “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” It is a taste of the ideal. It is uncommon unity. It is our mission and desire as a church, and, when manifested properly, it will be a tremendous source of joy to us and an irresistible beacon of hope to our culture.

Posted in Pastors Blog