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.”