1 PeterSample

Home Away From Home

One of the most beautiful things about following Jesus is the reminder that a brand new home is in our future. We have citizenship in a kingdom to come, and because death is inevitable, and will either bring us to our treasure or take us away from it, we should hide our treasure in Heaven, knowing we are not truly citizens of this earth, but are simply traveling abroad. Our core allegiance is in Heaven, but while we wait, the church is where we get to experience a home away from home. Here are three things we find when we invest ourselves into the local church.

A Place To Belong 

Our souls long to be needed, loved, accepted, and wanted. In the church, we shed light on the truth that we are not alone; here there is family with wide open arms.

A Place To Grow Up

It is possible to grow up in life but not in your spirit. It is possible to get saved and then stay stagnant. God calls us to lay aside selfishness, deceit, envy, and addiction, and the power to identify those things you need to set aside can often come from who you’re sitting beside. If you don’t have people who have a back-up camera for what you don’t see in your driveway, people who have permission to speak into your life and are willing to hold you accountable and encourage you, you’re stunting your own growth.

A Place To Be a Part of Something Bigger Than Yourself 

1 Peter 2:9 says “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” People. Priesthood. Nation. These are all plural; you can’t be any of these things alone. The local church allows you come together with God’s people and be a part of something you could never do alone.