Reclaiming What's Been Lost

As you may have noticed from some of my other articles on this site, I spend a lot of time thinking about the differences between the Christians of the 1st Century and us today. One of the differences that comes to my mind first is the way we look at “going to church.” I think we’ve lost something that was clearly present among the early Christians, but it doesn’t have to be lost forever. I’d like to explore some of the attitudes about “going to church” that those early Christians had, because I really do think we’ve lost something great that we need to reclaim.

In Acts 2:42-47, Luke describes something great that would probably seem a little strange to us today. Not only did the early Christians meet together on the first day of the week, but every moment of their lives were fully devoted to following the teachings of Christ given to them by the apostles. They lived their lives with Christ as their absolute top priority as they devoted themselves to prayer in every situation they faced. They chose to be together with other Christians every single day of the week so they could eat, praise, and worship God…together.

We can see from that passage in Acts a little about the early Christians’ attitude toward each other, but I like how Paul elaborates on that even further. When Paul wrote his letters to the churches, he always started the same way. He began by thanking God for them and their faith. With great sincerity and eloquence he reaffirmed his Christian love for all his brothers and sisters who would be reading that letter. He even included the new converts that he hadn’t yet been able to meet but had heard about and rejoiced with. Another common theme in all of Paul’s letters was his strong desire to be reunited with those he loved so much. It hurt him that he couldn’t be with them all the time, and he wanted nothing more than to be joined with them again.

Just take those examples for now. You should already be able to see some differences in our attitude toward “going to church” and that of the 1st Century followers. For one reason or another, getting together with other Christians has become somewhat routine for us. We seem to have lost the spark that Luke and Paul write about. Maybe it’s because you work long hours at a hard job, and the weekend is your time to retreat from everything and crash. Maybe it’s because you see church attendance as just another obligation, and you know if you don’t show up somebody will call and ask where you were. Maybe your reason is different, but the fact remains that our attitude toward being with other Christians just isn’t what it could be, and our lives are not as joyful because of it.

It’s true that many things compete for our time today, and the main portion of our time is spent just trying to put food on the table for our family. After working hard all week, we do need a time of rest; but our idea of rest may need a little adjusting. Unless you work around nothing but Christians all week long, you’re bound to feel a little disconnected by the end of the week. That’s just how we were made; humans need contact with other humans to survive, and Christians need contact with other Christians to survive spiritually. You see, “church” was never intended to be an obligation.

We have the privilege of being able to gather together with other Christians at least once each week, and we need to view it as a privilege. The early Christians had to be secretive about their meetings for fear of persecution, but we don’t have that worry today. How often do we think about that? The early Christians gathered together every day to recharge their batteries and renew their spirits. If you’re feeling drained by the end of the week, are you looking forward to your time to get together with other Christians, or do you see it as a routine? My point is simple; in the 1st Century, thousands of new Christians were being added to Christ’s church every day as a result of dedicated, sincere, and joyful spirits. Just imagine what we could do for God’s kingdom today if we had the same attitudes they did!