I'm God's Daughter-in-law

So the other night I was having a great conversation with a friend.

And this friend and I were discussing the role of the church in modern society, but more specifically, in our immediate sphere of life. What purposes does it serve in the world and in my/your world?

Here is what I concluded to put it simply: God is God. God is in everything. But God is not church. Because God is God. And church is church. duh.

God has a son. His son's name is Jesus. If Jesus had a wife, her name would be "the church." The church is the bride of Christ. We, as believers, are the bride of Christ. We are the church. We are Jesus' wife. Still with me?

So technically, if Jesus is the son of God, and the church is His bride, that kind of makes the church God's daughter-in-law. An important role in la familia, but not quite AS important as the son himself.

But like every great bride, the church is meant to love and serve and fulfill the needs of Christ. And in return, like every good hubby, Jesus is our protector, provider, and unconditional lover. Sounds like a match made in heaven eh? (pun intended)

Therefore, church, in the physical/social definition of the word, is important, but not everything in the grand scheme of faith. Before you crucify me for blasphemy, hear me out. What I'm saying is, if you fit into that group of us that have missed more than one church service, or don't look and act like everyone else, or happen to have sinned more than twice in your life, you shouldn't feel as though you've missed the boat. We don't just go to church, we ARE the church, and the church is a beautiful, romantic body with the potential to remedy every one of this world's infirmities with God's love. Let's make our man proud.