Man, I needed the Church today. Most of you have probably experienced church but many of you might not have experienced The Church. I’m not talking about “get your butt in a pew on Sunday”, “let’s pretend like everyone’s perfect”, “let’s sit around and talk about how cute our clothes are” church. I’m talking about the Church- the physical presence of God on earth as His followers love and forgive and be merciful. The Church is a place where people go to find acceptance and healing and support and family. The Church is a place where you can go and have eyes swollen shut from crying so much and, instead of looking at you like you are a psycho (like the people at Target), the Church cries with you. I’m talking about a place where you can be utterly and completely broken and people, your family in Christ, rally around you and pray when you can’t. It’s fellowship that means people are deeply invested in your life and what God is doing with you.

One of our friends today commented that he was glad we had come today, despite our wet, bedraggled appearance, because rallying around someone is a two way street. Yes, we were absolutely blessed by our friends today, but he made the statement that it’s good for the church to have someone to rally around. It’s a reminder that we’re all in community together, that we’re intimately connected, that we can be the hands and feet of Jesus to each other.

In all of my dealings with people, I have seen time and again that people just crave someone to listen to them and to understand them. SO MANY PEOPLE feel alone and unloved and undervalued. The Church, when it’s working as it should, is a beautiful opportunity to experience God’s love and comfort on this earth.

I experienced that today.