Ephesians 2:19
Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,
Christianity is not a club to be joined. Clubs or social networks are sought to be joined on the basis of the mutual interest of those wishing to join. Consider a chess club, only those with interest in chess seek to join. This is the minimum requirement for those wanting to join, they must have interest. For those who do seek to join the chess club they generally find that once they have joined they have much in common than just chess. They generally have other interests and personality traits that are similar. This applies to any group club formed on the mutual interest of the members. At first glance one might say that Christians join together out of their mutual interest in Christ, however Christianity differs in many ways.
The major difference is that Jesus seeks after us as Revelation 3:20 informs us, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me”. In fact it is our resistance to God’s knocking that separates us from Him. Most of us at some point in our life simply are not interested in Jesus yet he knocks anyway. James 4:8 reinforces this idea of letting God into our lives when he declares, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you”… Club members will tell you that they gather out of a love for their clubs namesake. John reminds us that, “We love Him because He first loved us.” In 1 John 4:19.
Christianity is not a club to be joined, or given a trial period. For those who love God there is no club membership application to fill out. No card to be revoked for violating club rules and no expiration date. We are called to come into fellowship with God. Corinthians 1:9 tells us, “God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord”. We were called into this relationship through the redemptive work that Jesus did on our behalf on the cross of Calvary. This is His grand demonstration of His love for us. Romans 5:8 reminds us, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us”. Those who recognize and believe in this expression of His love for us and choose to follow Christ are brought into communion with God. Communion with God through fellowship with fellow believers and followers is our expression of love for our Savior.
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