That's the thing, right there: the traditional trappings that, unintentionally or not, cause religious folks to think (and act) that "church" is God's house ... and that church is where we go to visit him and to be in his presence for an hour or two every week.
Maybe more during annual Revivals.
And trappings ... including manmade traditions ... are what causes folks to worship Religion, rather than to be humbled by an infinite and almighty God and the 24x7 presence of the living Christ.
God's too big for your building ... and being older than the universe and more creative than an army of Beethovens, maybe he gets tired of hearing the same songs every Sunday morning.
Might make him think he hasn't done anything new or inspiring in peoples' lives for the past two hundred years, too.
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If we say "We go to church on Sundays to visit God in his house" the implication is that we while we believe God is everywhere, God's got to be trimmed to fit our concepts and notions ... down to a size that's convenient, easy to recognize, comfortable n' easy to carry yet not so bulky that he starts interfering with our lives during the week ... that is, when we're not visiting him in his house with the sign announcing "church" out front.
It's reflexively easy to pre-package God into buildings with steeples, pews and organ music. And to keep him there, too ... where he won't get in our way or become a nuisance during the week ... at least until we need him to intervene with a supernatural miracle or solution on our behalf.
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What goes unsaid (but not necessarily unnoticed, according to our actions) is that if we believe that a building with symbols and traditions is where God lives ... and that "church" is the best place to find and commune with him for an hour on Sunday mornings ... maybe it's because Christ's not living in our hearts every hour.
