Going to church has always been a part of what I do on Sunday morning. My parents took me to church as a little girl and I married a man whose family did the same, so naturally we have made church going a high priority for our family. I never was dragged to church, I actually loved going as a little girl and even as a teenager. For the past six years I have been employed by a church so needless to say I spend a lot of time at church!
I gave my email to a store clerk the other day and she noted I worked for a church. Her response was ” I don’t need church, just a bunch of hypocrites ready to judge me and my bad decisions”. I told her maybe she was going to the wrong church since we all make bad decisions. She just chuckled.
I have at times felt frustrated over the years with complaints we receive at the church. Everyone has a style of worship that they like or don’t like. Many times the complaints feel very self centered and not God centered. We do live in a consumer driven society and our churches are not exempt.
I witnessed something yesterday morning that motivated me to look deep into my heart and my posture of worship. Yesterday was not any different than the last Sunday or the Sunday before that. I got my seat in my usual spot, my coffee of choice in the cup holder in front of me and my Bible pulled up on my I- phone, ready to go. We started to sing worship songs and I noticed an elderly gentleman sitting with his family in front of me. Advanced in years made it hard for him to get into his seat. There came a time in the worship where we were invited to stand by the worship leader and sing the remainder of the song with he and the band. I watched as this gentleman who was dressed in a suit and tie ( most others around him in casual summer clothing) struggled to get to his feet. His daughter whispered “Pops, you don’t have to get up again” to which he replied ” Oh yes I do” – then he stood shaking and raised his hands and sang and worshiped the Lord. His act of worship moved me to tears. He wore his best clothes and struggled to give his best worship. He was at church !
I wish I could say I am always that eager to worship, but if I am honest there are many Sundays where I am distracted and not always as focused as I could be. I am inspired to bring my best each day and truly worship. God doesn’t just show up in our lives on Sundays so we should show up each day for Him as well. What if we told our spouses or kids we only would spend and hour a week with them. Do you think we would have a strong relationship with those we love? Why do we think we can do that with God. Great relationships need quality time put into them.
My encouragement to you is to set aside time each day to truly worship. The elderly man could have just remained seated, it would have been a lot easier,yet he chose to worship and so should we.
Blessings !
Sherri