In recent years I’ve met lots of people who are Christians but don’t have a church home. I have no real evidence to back it up but based upon my experience, this may be one of the most numerically significant movements (or maybe anti-movements) in the Church in recent years: Christians who, for whatever reason, are no longer actively engaged in the life of a church community. Let’s listen to two passages of scripture from the New Living Translation that can help clarify our thoughts:

Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works.  And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near. (Hebrews 10:24-25)

A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other…It is the one and only Spirit who distributes all these gifts. He alone decides which gift each person should have. The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ. Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit…All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it.” (1 Corinthians 12:7, 11-13, 27)

In today’s first passage, the writer of Hebrews reminds us that one of the reasons we gather is to encourage one another. Do you ever need some encouragement? I do! Hearing Bible stories about how God has worked thousands of years ago can be inspirational, but hearing stories about how God worked last week in the life of someone I know can be life-changing. Knowing that God is a God of compassion is wonderful, but having someone actually comfort you in your sickness or grief lets you experience his compassion. When you and I walk into church we should be stepping into an alternative culture, a culture in which we can give and receive compassion, hope and empowerment.  In today’s second passage, Paul writes, “A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other.” We come to church to get equipped to deal with stress and sadness in our own lives and learn how to serve others. We come to be blessed and we learn how to become a blessing. God has called us to be a light to the world but we have to “come in” before we can be “sent out.” We need to come in and hear God’s Word and also to share life with other believers. We love reconnecting with church friends. But the knowledge and the comfort we’ve received in church are not just gifts for ourselves. They are gifts that are meant for others. Much like seed, if we only consume the good things God gives us in church, it’s like eating the seed instead of planting it.

God has given you gifts to share and seed to sow. Are you using your gifts and sowing them into the lives of other people? Or are you keeping God’s blessings all for yourself? Take a few moments and consider how you can use your gifts and sow those seeds into the lives of others today.