This week I have diagnosed why I did not attend church this past Sunday. As I make my final post on this subject let me say that I do not believe in forsaking the assembly. In fact, I believe that God is pleased when believers gather together to worship Him. I know that others may not be gathering for the reason of worship, but I am not in control of other people's motives. I will worship God corporately on a weekly basis.
But does that mean that God expects me to be in church Sunday morning, night, Wed. night, visitation, special events, and revivals? I don't think so. Now it has taken me a while to make that statement. I have lived with a box view of church. By that I mean that I saw church one way and everything that does not fit into my box (or view) of church must be heresy - not heresy of Christ, but heresy of my traditions.
To live in a constant fear of missing church is bondage, not the freedom that Christ gives to believers. To live thinking that others are heathens because they do not attend church as much as I might is judgmental and playing the Pharisee! To live in the new life given to me by Christ at salvation means that I focus on God and not my tradition.
To bring this to a close let me say that there are certain things that every believer must do: Love God and Love our neighbors. The church does a great job of focusing on loving God, in fact that is why we spend all of our time there. But the church can never teach you to love your neighbor. That is an on the job training deal. You must be around your neighbors to learn to love them. That is why I won't be in church every Sunday. I need to balance my life to fulfill the Great Commandment of loving God and loving others.
Hopefully this week has allowed you to search your own motives for attending church. Whether you agree with me or not is irrelevant. What is relevant is how are you in loving God and loving other?. If you are not balanced, then you will not live in the freedom of the believers life while making a difference in the world around them.
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1 comment:
Wow Mike. I don't know whether to shout Amen or groan. I appreciate your honesty, insight, and courage. I am in process with you. What is really important? I can answer that fast, because I have been handed that script almost all my life. The "Why" question is the hard, uncomfortable follow up. Just because, stops working for our kids pretty fast. Some time we use it for ourselves, all our lives. Thanks Again!
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