Church? I Don't Need No Stinkin' Church

 

You've heard it before. You may have even said it yourself.

"I love Jesus, but I'm not religious."

"I follow Jesus but I can't stand church."

And I get it, I really do. If your concept of being religious is shouting "Praise the Lord!" about every bit of good fortune or every clever turn of phrase, I don't blame you for choosing to tone it down a bit.

If your experience of church is a group of people looking down their noses in judgment and self-righteousness at those they consider to be outsiders, no wonder you don't want anything to do with it.

But when I say religious, I'm thinking more along the lines of what James 1:27 says: Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

And when I think of church, I think of what Acts 2:42 says: They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. I think of what Galatians 6:2 says: Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

Truth is...sometimes a meme is just funny, but the following one rings out with Truth.