I’d like to share with you why I’m a member of the church of Christ.

The Bigger Story

Sometimes when we talk about why we’re a member of the church, we talk about restoring first century Christianity.   We focus on such things as scriptural baptism, Biblical church organization, and acceptable worship.  That’s important and needed, but I wonder if we sometimes miss the bigger story.  Listen, what I’m about to tell you  is a story for the ages, a story  so epic that it will capture your heart and make your soul come alive.  It’s the original Restoration Movement.

It’s a Story of Creation.

In the beginning, before there was anything, there was someone.  This someone is beyond our ability to describe, but I’ll give it a try.  This being is intelligent and good.  He has the will to create, to express himself, and to show love.   For these reasons (and more), he creates the Universe.  He creates the physical world, and out of chaos he brings order and life, the crowning achievement of which is humanity.

It’s About Relationship and Covenant.

Mankind wouldn’t be robots to simply do what was programmed.  They would have the will to choose to have a relationship with their Creator.  They chose poorly.  Chaos resulted.  The relationship with the Creator was damaged, and the Creator was hurt.

Instead of destroying his creative work and starting all over, the Creator decided to mend this relationship himself.  He decided to restore order to the chaos.  The way he did that was to enter into a covenant with his creation.  He would teach them to appreciate the good and to have a relationship with him.

It’s a Love Story.

Finally, his plan would involve him entering the chaotic world, the damaged world, and bringing order back to his creation.  This was a tough choice because it involved sacrifice.  It involved a cross.  That’s Jesus we’re talking about.  So, rather than seeing his creation die, he died for them by sending himself into the creation.   Through his death, he was able to redeem his creation and inject his life giving Spirit into the chaotic world, so that people could be reunited to him and his life giving presence.

It’s a Restoration Story.

This works because not only could he offer a perfect sacrifice, but he could also rise to life, rise from the grave.  He not only paid a price, but he set in motion a force that brings life to death, that brings order to chaos.  Now, people could be united with him in this life, to walk with him, to live with him.  He created a forever people who could have his very life giving energy within them, and live in the power of his forever life.  Not only would these people have the promise of knowing the Creator, but these people would have the privilege of working with him to bring order back to the chaos, to bring love to a hopeless place.  This is about restoration.  This is the restoration movement that you need to know about.

It’s a Restoration Movement.

The church is that group of people who follow that Creator, who follow that risen Savior.  It’s the group of people who follow him in his death and in the power of his resurrection and join him in the work of restoring order to a chaotic place, of restoring love to a hopeless place.  It’s the group of people who want to share the knowledge of a story that shapes the very fabric of our existence, and explains the world in a way that is powerful and life transforming.  That’s why we call it good news.  It’s about rising from the ashes, rising from the lowest possible place, and finding the power that has been there all along, to set the world in the way that it should go, and to find harmony and peace and joy along the way.  That’s why I am a member of the church of Christ.

It’s the Best Story.

And, when you find a story like this, when you find a being like this that captures your mind and heart, then you want to get involved in such a monumental work.  You want to join in and get with his order of things.  So, if it turns out that his revealed order, his plan, his very being is revealed in a book, then you want to get to know that book…not because you want to be the greatest scholar, but because you want to know the Author, and you want to know how to work with him, how to be with him, and how to get done the most important work in the world.  You want to get as close to what he wants as possible, because you trust him.

That’s what his people do, and that’s why I am a member of the church of Christ.   It’s about more than just getting all the facts right. It’s about entering into a relationship, entering into an epic story in which we become right by the grace of God and work together with God to make the creation right with Him.

Let me ask you,  why are you a member of the church?