Like most of you, my spiritual journey in the Christian faith has been a patchwork mosaic of my upbringing, bi-weekly church visits, stern grandparents and personal experiences with the Holy Spirit. Growing up, I attended church twice a week and never missed a Sunday school class. I had youth group meetings on Wednesdays and "big church" Sundays just before lunch. I honestly don't remember the first time I went to church.
I don't remember the first day I stepped into that huge, yellowed brick building of my hometown. I remember it simply being a part of my life from the get-go. I do remember, though, the day I established a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
There is a reason I remember the beginning of one and not the other: they are not one in the same. Yes, it is true you should not have one and not the other, but the building is not more important than the spirit.
Too many of us nowadays are so driven to wake up early, do our hair and makeup, slap on that brand new dress and look our absolute best every Sunday. Did you miss last week? You had better go to Sunday school this week to make up for it. When did this become more important? When did attending a gathering to worship become nothing more than a fashion show where we can show off our new apparel and make sure no one mutters to one another about our absence?
Since when is it OK to do whatever we wanted during the week as long as we attend a service we probably aren't even retaining? Since when is it OK to own a Bible but never crack it open except when your pastor asks to turn to a certain verse and he makes eye contact with you, so you guiltily flip through the thin pages in complete confusion because you have no idea where that chapter in the book is?
This is true for all ages, not just collegiate men and women. Not just parents, not just young adults, not just seniors. It is true for all of us.
Going to church every night of the week means nothing if you don't take it home with you. Feeling nostalgic or emotional during services means next to nothing if you go home the same man or woman you were before. Church is here for us to come together to serve and worship the Lord. Church is here to bring Christians together in missions to bring more and more to the glory and mercy that is God's love. Church is not here to make you feel better. Church is not here to cleanse you of your sins that week just so you can start all over Monday morning.
Crack open that old Bible. Highlight it. Draw in it. Write little footnotes in it. Whatever you want to do that helps along your personal worshiping of God's word through scripture. Don't kick church out of your life. It is an absolutely beautiful thing that should be respected and attended, but do not make it the priority.
What the congregation thinks about you is not important. What your pastor thinks of you is not a priority. There is one person that you need to make the priority. One that wants to love you, but you haven't been listening. One that wants to own your heart, but you haven't fully opened it yet.
Open your heart, open your mind, open your bible.
