And all Your people sing along...
I haven't been to church on Sunday in about two years, and my friend Matt and I thought that making the trip would be a good experience. The way we saw it, the more open we are, the more we can learn and therefore become better witnesses.
Wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong.
Something was missing. Something important, and we felt it big time. Now, I'm not blaming the missing piece on the fact that this worship was taking place on Sunday, I'm just saying that this particular church we attended had some missing links. Instead of some amazing story about Jesus, we got a sweetly veiled lecture on volunteering our talents to serve in a ministry. I don't mind hearing about how we all need to use the gifts that God gave us, but not during worship. In my opinion, that should be a side note...not the topic of God's day.
I wanted to hear a story, I wanted to hear about Jesus, I wanted to hear about the love of God. The last Sunday church I went to consisted of the same. However, instead of a sweetly veiled lecture, we recieved a full blown out lecture on paying tithe. I just don't get it. I understand that these things are important, but how are they the main focus?
In my humble opinion, they aren't. They simply aren't.
My good friend Nathan lost one of his best friends two nights ago. His friend died an unsettling death, and the Nathan that I have always known to be "just a little angry" at God turned to me and said: "The God that we love is MAD. He loves us despite ourselves, and all He asks is that we love Him in return. And I do."
The love that he knows to be the Love of God stunned him. It was all he talked about the rest of the night, and amidst the shock of knowing his friend was gone, all he talked about was how amazing the love of God is.
I'll admit it, I don't always pay my tithe. I'm poor, I don't have money, and I don't have any good excuses either. I also don't use every talent that God has given me. I'm very selfish with my free time sometimes, and I don't always help out where I know that I should. And again, I have no good excuses.
Does this make me a bad Christian? I don't believe that it does. God has this unfailing love for us that I can't even begin to comprehend most of the time, and I wouldn't even want to. Because that's what makes Him God, and me...me.
So to sum it up, today wasn't the experience I had hoped it would be. Luckily, I know the Truth in my heart, and that's really all I need.
Next Sunday, we're moving on to another church:)
