What's it worth?

Jamie Read, our Assistant Minister at St Peter's, preached a very important sermon on Sunday night. Tragically - and ironically, given the subject - only a few people were there to hear him.
The passage was Matthew 13:44-46

⁴⁴ “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. ⁴⁵ “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, ⁴⁶ who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.

It was desperately sad that, in light of the invaluable gift of the Kingdom of God, so few people were willing to give up an hour or so to "come together as the family of God in our Father's presence to offer him praise and thanksgiving, to hear and receive his holy word, to bring before him the needs of the world, to ask his forgiveness of our sins, and to seek his grace, that through his Son Jesus Christ we may give ourselves to his service."

Of course, it might be argued that going to church is not the same as receiving the Kingdom of God. And there's some truth in that, but surely if we really are members of the Kingdom, children of our heavenly Father, brothers and sisters in Christ, members of the body of Christ who carry one-another's burdens and share one-another's joys, then we will delight in meeting together?

I suspect that the current trend for attending church as and when it suits reflects a terrible individualism that focuses so much on a personal relationship with Jesus that it ignores the corporate nature of the Kingdom. But we can't enter the Kingdom on our own terms. We can't say to Jesus, 'Yes, I'd like eternal life, but I don't want to meet together with other Christians more than a couple of times a month...' 

For too long we've driven a wedge between the Kingdom and the church. No, they're not exactly the same thing, but there is sufficient overlap to be able to say that part of the cost of the Kingdom is taking our place and our responsibilities in Christ's body seriously. 

I came away from church on Sunday with the words of Jesus ringing in my ears, 

Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord' will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. (Mat 7:21)