As we got talking I asked him; “How’s your Church life?” His response undoubtedly revealed the reason for the struggles in his walk with the Lord; “Sir, to be sincere, I have not been to Church for the past six months.” I told him; “Get back to Church. You cannot be healthier than the strength of your Church life.” That is another way to monitor your spiritual health.

Friend, one of the marks of spiritual health is the love for the saints and the house of God. Simply put, the moment you begin to feel uncomfortable relating with fellow Christians, spiritual sickness is already settling in. The Christian race is personal but not private (Psalms 55:14, 84:7, Acts 4:23). It is a communal life; the disciples (plural) were first called Christians (plural) at Antioch (Acts 11:26).

“Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints” (Ephesians 1:15). Progress in the Christian life is measured by faith in Jesus and love for the saints. In fact, your faith towards God is only validated by your love for the saints; you cannot claim to love God while detesting the brethren (1 John 3:14, 4:20).

The devil deceives people into justifying their reasons for not associating with the believers. You hear people say stuff like; “Those Christian folks are very pretentious. They are not real. I don’t like people living a fake life. I’d rather relate with unbelievers than believers”. What such people fail to realize is that a saint with an imperfect life or character is a lot better than a sinner with a seemingly perfect life.

“Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together…” (Hebrews 10:25). There is no tenable excuse for not showing up at the gathering of God’s people. There must be that earnest desire to want to connect (Psalms 122:1, Acts 3:1). No matter how you dislike the behavior of members of your family, there is that family bond that keeps drawing you to them. If that pull is absent, you are not healthy. You should not be comfortable sitting back at home during Church services (Acts 2:46-47).

The Church is not heaven. It is a hospital on the road to heaven. It is not a place for perfect people but a place where people are being perfected as they get exposed to God’s word and presence (Ephesians 4:12). No matter how perfect you think you are, you need the Church. And no matter how imperfect you think you are, the Church will always be your place of healing and strength (Hebrews 12:12-13).

© ‘Demola Awoyele
Lead Pastor,
Destiny Impact Church
Akure, Nigeria