Day 16: Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “…. on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Matthew 16:16-18
Our culture today has labeled the Church “organized religion” and categorized it as something negative — something worthy of distrust, perhaps even scorn — along with the government and large corporations. Even Christians today take the Church for granted and fail to appreciate how important it is to the well-being of our world.
Everyone needs what the Church has to offer. First and foremost, the church brings Jesus to the world. This is what Jesus himself called us to do when He said, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” (Matthew 28:19-20) Through the Church that God provides His Word and Sacraments, His gifts to nourish and grow our faith. Therefore, it is through the Church that people hear that they are forgiven and their salvation has been won.
Secondly, the church is the place to find Christian fellowship. In the recounting of Creation, there is only one thing God said was not good; “”It is not good that the man should be alone.” (Gen 2:18 ESV) No one should be alone; no one is alone. You, as a child of God, belong to the family of God — the Church. As God’s chosen ones, then put on “compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.” (Colossians 3:12-14 ESV)
Finally, the Church fights against the evil in our world and not even “the gates of hell” can stand against us. We fight Satan and false gods by proclaiming the truth of Jesus in whom we have already conquered. We shine Christ’s light into the darkness of this world as we go forth into the world each day serving our neighbors through ours vocations (moms, dads, sons, daughters, siblings, teachers, nurses, doctors, firefighters, truck drivers, accountants, farmers, librarians, etc.). And though we know that eventually this world will pass away, the light that shines through us and our actions will have an everlasting effect on all whom we meet.
Bible Readings: Ephesians 4 and 6
Immanuel Lutheran Church 