Going to Church with Jesus

I can’t wait for the day that I go to church with Jesus.

I continue to be amazed by the idea of Immanuel, “God with Us”. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God who created the universe, the God who takes keen interest in the affairs of man, put on human flesh like a garment so that He could walk among us, because He wanted to walk among us.

Can you imagine God with Us walking the streets of Nazareth, going to school, going to work, shopping in the local market? What was it like to see the water turned into wine or to see Lazarus’ face when he walked out of that tomb knowing that Jesus had called him out of death?

If I were God, or so much as believed myself to be a god, why would I go to church?

I would love to hear Jesus reading scripture, to hear His inspired thoughts read in the author’s (His) own voice. I would love to hear Jesus singing with the congregation, “Ain’t no grave gonna hold my body down” (Bethel Music). Wouldn’t it be life-changing to hear Jesus talking to His Father or to experience the true love and genuine care that emanated from Him to others?

I often remind myself that I do go to church with Jesus. I can’t always perceive His presence because of the troubles of my own heart or the human behaviors of others that cloud my view of Him. But He promised He is still Immanuel, “God with Us”. He is with us always, “even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). And we have His promise that “where two or three are gathered in My name, there am I in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:20).

By His Spirit, God with Us is with us in our gatherings, singing with us, reading the scriptures with us, emanating love and fellowship among us and in us.

While I can’t always see or sense Him, I am grateful for His promises and that the God that cares enough about His people to go to church with them is, indeed, with us always.

Zephaniah 3:17

The Eternal your God is standing right here among you, and He is the champion who will rescue you. He will joyfully celebrate over you; He will rest in His love for you; He will joyfully sing because of you like a new husband.