What Holds Us Together

According to a recent study by the Pew Research Center, people who are looking for a new church “look first and foremost for a place where they like the preaching and the tone set by the congregation’s leaders.” We want good preaching, but we also want to feel welcomed by the church’s leadership. There are other important factors as well, including the church’s location and the style of its services.

What if God were to make a list of the top things He looks for in a church? What would be on it? Some of the elements are revealed in our reading today. One is vision, primarily a heavenly vision where we set our hearts “on things above” (v. 2).

God is not interested in the style of the service as much as in the church’s quality of life. He even has a dress code for the church! As a result of their focus on things above, its members are to put off whatever belongs to their earthly nature and clothe themselves with “compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience” (v. 12).

This is not a utopian vision of church life. The call to bear with one another and forgive implies that there will be offenses. We will encounter difficult people and find plenty of occasions to forgive one another. We are not a company of perfect people—at least not on this side of eternity. The call for peace is especially significant because it raises the possibility of a community in turmoil.

The most important item on God’s list is love (v. 14). Love is what ties it all together. Love enables us to put up with one another’s weaknesses. It enables us to be patient as we move together in the direction of maturity.

Pray with Us

Today and tomorrow please focus your prayers on Moody Publishers’ Marketing department and their efforts to advertise and promote Moody’s Christian printed materials. We are grateful for the service of Grace Park, Janis Todd, and Kevin Utecht.

BY Dr. John Koessler

John Koessler is Professor Emeritus of Applied Theology and Church Ministries at Moody Bible Institute. John authors the “Practical Theology” column for Today in the Word of which he is also a contributing writer and theological editor. An award-winning author, John’s newest title is When God is Silent: Let the Bible Teach You to Pray (Kirkdale). Prior to joining the Moody faculty, he served as a pastor of Valley Chapel in Green Valley, Illinois, for nine years. He and his wife, Jane, now enjoy living in a lakeside town in Michigan.