Ephesians 1.23 observes, the church, you see, is not peripheral to the world; the world is peripheral to the church. The church is Christ’s body, in which he speaks and acts, by which he fills everything with his presence.

Oh that we as the Church, the people who claim Jesus as Savior,  would embrace this truth: the Church is not peripheral to the world but the world is peripheral to the Church.

We too often live just the opposite. Our time and talent is most given to accumulating the treasure and trophys of this world. We attend Church on Sunday if it is convenient, if there are no competing interests like work, pleasure or sport.

It is not church attendance that we need, anymore than the employer needs another laborer to pay. Rather the Church is in need of workers, full-time laborers engaged in making disciples of the world for seeing God’s kingdom come and His will being done on earth as it is in heaven. This doesn’t mean vocational, paid workers but occupational focused disciples whose real work is winning and discipling the men and women in the workplace, neighborhoods and institutions whether they live.

When the church is central to the Christian the work of God becomes primary to the Christian. When the church is central to the Christian, knowing God and His word deeply, intimately and obediently become the greatest joy and first priority of the Christian.

The world is perishing. The world and everything in it is being destroyed and will one day be destroyed by God. The purpose of the destruction is for creating a new heaven and new earth where people live forever with God in peace, joy and love.

Those who live with God in the new world will be the people of God who made Jesus Christ and the advancement of His Kingdom through the Church their first and best work in this world.