7.2 Can I Belong in Church?

We Irish are known for many things, from our iconic Irish dancing, our world-renowned poets, and not forgetting our sport. On our little island, we play the fastest field game in the world. It's called hurley for the boys and camogie for the girls. The game consists of a well-crafted piece of top quality ash wood, a ridiculously hard ball called a slitter, players wearing little to no protection, and many broken fingers. It's a game played only by the brave and it's led to the creation of other stick and ball games such as field hockey, ice hockey, and lacrosse. But here's the thing, you could become a half decent player just at home in your back garden, you could buy the kit, learn the skills, even master the art of keepy-uppies but it would have no comparison to lining up amongst your peers on game day, and even more special if in our national stadium, Croke Park. Christianity is like that, we can do it by ourselves, and some people have to, like the persecuted church around the world who have to read the Bible and pray in secrecy but just like being part of a team, the same is true when it comes to being part of a local church community. Jesus never intended for us to be alone or to try and work out our faith by ourselves. Jesus invented the idea of the church as a team because we all have so much to offer others and so much that we can learn and gain in return. The writer of the book of Hebrews encourages us to 'think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works', he also tells us to '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). I speak from experience when I say that growing in your faith is one of the hardest things to do alone. I remember growing up there were parts about my local church that I enjoyed but there wasn't really much going on for young people and so when one of my friends invited me along to their youth group, it was a serious game changer, although, the problem was is that it took an hour to get there by bus and this particular route had so many ramps which made me sick nearly every Sunday night but it was worth it. I remember all the fun, all the banter, all the games, and exploring the Scriptures together, and praying with people my own age really had an impact on me, and I really loved the leaders that were there. People that were slightly older speaking into my life. I remember one of them taking me aside and telling me that they thought I had gifts that God had instilled in me to work and communicate with young people. It's one of the reasons why I'm a youth worker today. We've said it before, we believe God has made you on purpose, with a purpose. You are uniquely you, and gifted in ways that no one else is. What you have to offer cannot be replicated and the church will be at a loss, if you choose to keep your faith-life to yourself. There are many gifts that the Holy Spirit can empower you with, you might have the gift of leadership or teaching, of healing or encouragement, of craftsmanship or art. One gift isn't greater than the other but if we all chip in, we can all work together like the different parts of a body. The apostle Paul warned us not to compare ourselves to other people. In his letter to the early church in Corinth, he said 'if the foot says, 'Well, I'm not a part of the body because I'm not a hand,' would that make it any less of part of the body. And if the ear said, 'Well, I'm not a part of the body because I'm not an eye,' would that make it any less a part of the body? If the whole body were an eye, how could we hear anything? If the whole body were an ear, how could we smell anything? And in fact, some parts of the body that seem the weakest and least important are actually the most necessary (1 Cor 12:16-17). It's a lie to think that you have nothing to offer, we are all gifted and when we're participating as a team, we can be God's 'hands and feet' in this world, it's the truest form of church. X