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Gathering with the church is like wearing mittens on a cold day

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Being from Wisconsin I’m used to cold winters, but I never get used to having my hands frozen.  When I was a kid I got a very bad frostbite and that has only made things worse when it comes to cold weather.  At the minimum I want a nice pair of warm gloves.  But you know the thing about gloves?  They never really keep your hands as warm as a good pair of mittens.  Last year I got a very nice pair of gloves that I thought would do the job, but guess what?  After a bit my fingers start to get cold.  I was thinking about that this morning as I drove down the highway in my still freezing car-  Wearing gloves and mittens is a lot like gathering with the church.

There are people who will tell you that you don’t need to gather- these are the “Glove Christians”.  You know what happens as soon as I separate my fingers from one another in my glove?  Each one gradually starts to get colder and colder.  They’re connected to the same body alright, but in cold weather, all you have to do is keep them apart and they start to get cold- and that’s even if I wear well insulated gloves!  “Glove Christians” will tell you that they can keep themselves well insulated from the world without gathering together with other Christians: They read the bible, pray, maybe avoid going to really cold places where the “world’s chill” would affect them.  The thing is, they’re still separated from their other members- their Christian brothers and sisters- and like a hand in a glove once they’re separated from the other members of the church, they’re going to get cold!

Gathering with the church really is like wearing mittens on a cold day- As soon as you get all your fingers together they all start to warm up.  It’s not enough to just be part of the Body of Christ, if you want to stay warm in your spiritual life the best way to do it is to stay close to the other members.

Here’s a good example of what I’m talking about:

Last week my wife and I gathered together with a small group at another brother’s home.  During the week I had taken on some of the world’s chill.  Had I chosen to be a “Glove Christian” I would probably have only gotten colder.  But as we gathered together and began to worship, pray, encourage and sing songs to the Lord- the chill was soon gone.  Suddenly the room was warm with the light and love of Christ!  As the night went on the fire of the Spirit of God burned brighter and brighter, and it was as if someone had thrown a log onto the fire of my life.  There was a spark that caught fire and each person was fanning the flame higher!  Not only did I catch the spark, but the Spirit’s fire ignited others who passed the flame around. We all enjoyed the warmth of the Spirit’s glow as we gathered together.  It was so wonderful that I left that night without a chill at all!  In fact, the next day, still basking in the glow, I picked up my guitar and wrote two worship songs to the Lord.  It was “joy unspeakable and full of glory” as the Word of God puts it!  It happened because we gathered in the “spiritual mitten“ – we came together as the church.  We were actually gathering- coming together- and the closeness of Koinonia warmed us up to all that we are in Christ!

So, I just want to say to all my brothers and sisters in Christ who are separated from each other like fingers in a glove- get in the mitten!  Stop isolating yourself!  There is no warmth in isolation.  This world is way colder than a Wisconsin winter, and if you want to stay warm in your fervor for Christ you need to gather together.

Get in the mitten!

Tags: gathering with God's people, isolated Christians, out of church Christians, staying on fire for God, the Body of Christ, why church is important