Hey, Church!
Man! People are AMPED UP out there! Am I right? After a short drive to the Dunkin in which I sit to write some encouragement to you all now, my adrenaline is surging as if I were being stared down by a grizzly bear. All I did was drive! Sitting in the air-conditioning, in no hurry at all, I was assaulted by one seething driver after another. On the bright side, I suppose, I did have one kind driver throw his arm out the window just to tell me I’m #1 in his book. Never mind which finger he used. I considered it a compliment.
The people of our city are hurting and need Jesus! But if we don’t share Him with them, then who will? And why would we expect anything in our world to get better until we do?
The truth is that many of us are so beaten down by life ourselves that we feel we have little or nothing to offer the world around us. There used to be a deeply held belief, even among the most nominal Christians, that “going to church” was a way to counter the grueling, hopeless grind of the world. It was just what you did. There was practically no thought given to any of the alternatives we are tempted by: sleeping in, catching up on work, and so forth.
If we do not remain vigilant in upholding that old traditional value–that Christians go to church–we may fall into the trap of watching church online while cooking breakfast, solving the daily Wordle, or fishing out on the boat.
What will we be good for if that becomes the norm? Seriously, think about it. We are called to share the love of Jesus with this angry world–to give our lives for the sake of people who spit in our faces and mock us–but we can’t get ourselves dressed to sit in a comfy chair in an air-conditioned room full of people who love us, to give thanks to God and encourage our fellow weary warriors in the faith?
We can do better.
So will you resolve today that, as for you and your house, you will serve the Lord, love others, and seek the peace and prosperity of your city? It’s time for the Church to rise up. Let’s start by going to church.
“Let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.” – Heb. 10:25
Your brother,
Ryan