Are you part of the church? The Lord wants us to belong to the church, to be part of the communion of saints. In these verses, he tells us how he wants the communion of saints to work.

Paul says that we were aliens or foreigners. By this he means that from ourselves we do not belong to God. From ourselves we would not even want to be part of God’s family or church. We would hate God. But Christ has come into our lives. He has paid for our sins. He has died for us and has made us part of God’s church. We now belong to him.

Paul gives us three pictures of how the church should look. He says we are fellow citizens. A citizen is generally someone who lives in a certain country. If you live in Australia, you are probably a citizen of Australia. If you live in South Africa, you are probably a citizen of South Africa. You belong there together with the other people who live there.

Paul also says that we are of the same household. We, together with the others in the church, belong to the same family. Through Christ, God has been made our Father. And God had made everyone else in the church your brothers and sisters. In families we do things together. We eat and play games together. We laugh and cry together. Families are very close. We must have a close relationship with our brothers and sisters in the church too.

Paul also gives the picture of a building or temple. Jesus Christ is the first stone, and we are all built on him. He gives us our strength. Together we are the temple of God. God the Holy Spirit actually lives in each of our hearts. He makes his home in us.

And so, God wants us to live with our brothers and sisters in the church. Together we must love each other and help each other serve the Lord. We are all heading to eternal life together.

Reflection with your child:

What does it mean to you that you belong to the church?