An Epiphany

I have had an epiphany today. For the past year I have been asking myself this question…”why have people lost their love of church” not “The Church” not God, but actually attending church. I, my friends, think I may have figured it out.

Now sure some people are nursing wounds of offense, some are disgusted at the state of our pastors and leaders and the increasing amount of moral failures but I believe that some people, many people in fact have become shut ins. Completely comfortable with electronic means of communication, you know, the kind that doesn’t actually require you to look anyone in they eye or God forbid engage in conversation with someone’s face! We love the comfort of anonymity.  Allow people access to your life is hard and scary.  But may I suggest that a life lived without relationships is really no life at all.

I am beginning to wonder why do I go to church? Obviously assuming my husband and I were not pastors, why would I go to church? I know for me I am thousands of miles away from my family with the exception of my cousin. My church offers me a family. I know that each week when I show up there will be people who genuinely care about me, people who are interested in my life and my family. I know that there are people there who love my children like they were aunts or uncles or grandparents.

I know that when I go to church I am going to experience the presence of God. There will be an opportunity for me to get lost in worship. I love praise and worship, I love to sing, I love to watch my children sing and dance to the Lord. It is so much better doing all of that at church then when I do it alone in my living room.

Church offers me the opportunity to hear from God in a different way than I would on my own. Have you ever heard a message preached and you felt as though God was speaking just to you? There may be one sentence or one verse that is read that answers a question I have been praying or addressing a sin issue that I am in need of conviction. I know that when I go to church there are people there who will pray with me and pray for me.

Sometimes you just need someone to pray for you and I know that there are people there who will do just that. I have heard people say things like I am just not being fed or I don’t like the praise and worship and while those are valid issues, I believe we can enter into God’s presence and hear God’s voice in any situation. Balaam heard God speak through a donkey….I’ll let that one sink in…Our churches are not perfect. Our pastors are not perfect, believe me I know, but neither am I perfect. Could church be the one place all of us imperfect people can go and work it out together in a safe place?

All of these reasons are my reasons. I am aware that to someone who is unfamiliar with church these reasons seem scary, uncomfortable and weird. These reasons will however fill the void of loneliness and hurt that is in our hearts. Psalms 68:6 tells us that “God puts the solitary in families”.

I believe that our families are under attack. Not only the families in our home but the families we have at church. We are being led to believe that we don’t need church, that we can do our relationship with God on our own. We are being led to believe that missing a few weeks will not hurt anything. How wrong we are. God set up the Church, a group of people coming together as a family from the beginning. God loves the church. My desire is to love what God loves and hate what God hates. I know God hates division and He hates loneliness.

So here has been my prayer this week…God, give me a new love for your church, help me to love the people who are in it and offer mercy and grace to everyone who along side of me is trying to love you more…

Let’s get a heart for God’s house and a love for the people who are in it.