But What About Those Gates of Hell?
For over forty years, the church has been the center of my spiritual life. My parents took me there when I was young, and since I became a teen, I have gone by choice. All right, part of that was because I had to walk past this boy's house, and if he saw me going by, he hurried to get ready and come, too. But, for various reasons, I have attended church nearly every Sunday for forty years.
But why do I say, "attended church"? If asked, I would say that the church is not something I can "attend." The church is the people who gather together to worship God. The church is you and me. I know that, but it’s never been important to me to differentiate. Now I find myself talking about 'going to church' and wondering, what do I mean? The building? The service on Sunday? I’m not sure. In some ways, the word 'church' is nebulous to me—no distinct boundaries or meaning. Is that good or bad? I wonder what Jesus meant when He used the word in the first place….
