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我的一个朋友喜欢谈论追随“教会礼仪”的试探。他说这种信仰是以教会这个社会组织为中心，而不是以我们与神的关系为中心。

作为牧师，我总是很感谢那些愿意支持我们事工和项目的人。但我知道，人们很容易把教会参与和信仰本身等同起来。当我问到他们的属灵生活时，他们可能只关注教会的音乐，项目或委员会，而从未描述他们与神的实际关系。

当这种情况发生时，我必须提醒人们，耶稣赐给了我们那更好的礼物。耶稣来，并不是让我们忙于做志愿者，或为教会项目做奉献。祂乃是来邀请我们进入神的同在。

藉着耶稣，我们与神建立了爱的关系。正是在这个关系中，我们才找到饶恕，医治和目的。

归属于教会是做门徒重要的一部分。但在这里神提醒我们，教会的目的不是使我们忙碌，或创造舒适的敬拜礼仪。它是为了强化神的同在——给你和我有机会共饮那“直涌到永生的活水”。（参约 4:13-14）

A friend of mine likes to talk about our temptation to follow “Churchianity.” He describes this as a version of faith that centers on the church as a social organization, rather than on our relationship with God.

As a pastor, I am always grateful for people who want to support our ministries and programs. But I know it can be tempting for people to equate their church involvement with faith itself. When I ask about their spiritual lives, they might focus on music, programs, or committees in the church without ever describing their actual relationship with God.

When that happens, I am challenged to remind people of the greater gift that Jesus offers. Jesus did not come just to make us busy volunteers or to get us to donate to the church's ministries. Jesus came to invite us into God's presence.

Through Jesus, we are brought into a loving relationship with God. And it is in this relationship that we find forgiveness, healing, and purpose.

Belonging to a church is an important part of being a disciple. But in this passage, we are reminded that the purpose of the church isn't merely to make ourselves busy or to create a comfortable worship service. It's to facilitate the presence of God—to give you and me the chance to drink the “water welling up to eternal life.”