I drove 333 miles to go to my parents and help them in their moving progress. Sunday though, I deserted them both and went to my old church to worship God and see many old friends and family.
But one of the two most important ones wasn't there. When I asked, I was told "When I left the house she was planning on coming."
I'm a doubtful person, so my immediate assumption was that she'd found out I was coming and didn't show up. I'd even tried to keep my visit a secret just to prevent that since several of my other visits have been an occasion for her to miss as well.
But simply because I over think things, I wondered to myself - "Maybe, just maybe, whatever stopped her from coming was something small and if you hadn't have been so stubborn and told her you were coming she would have come if she'd known you'd be there."
I don't think so.
But the minute that thought struck me, I was almost floored by another idea.
Why on earth would someone make an extra effort to come to church because I might be there, when the whole premise of church is that GOD is there.
In the Bible times, when someone knew Jesus was somewhere, they didn't stay home if they were sick, they went to Jesus because they were sick. They drug their sick friends and family, did without food, walked days and days just to be where Jesus could teach them. Could touch them.
Yet one of the kids gets a fever and the whole family stays home to wipe his nose.
What if He was there?
What if you walked into church on Sunday morning, with your sick child, spouse, self and said "I'm going to find the hem of His robe to touch today. I don't know what it will look like in todays circumstances, but I'm sure going to find it."
He promised that if two or three were gathered in His name, He would be there. So He came to church last Sunday. And I foolishly wondered if someone might have come if they'd have known I was there.
I think you'll disrupt the service if you go expecting something from God. If you walk in and say WAIT, I didn't get a blessing, I didn't get my healing, I didn't get a touch - LET ME THROUGH because He's here, and I'm here sick/tired/hurting, so He's not done here yet!
But I think it's high time our church services got disrupted by someone actually expecting Jesus to show up.
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6 comments:
Isn't the fact that no one in our country feels this way about church proof that He's NOT there?
I think so too!
OH no, I know He's there. I've stood underneath waves of His presence that made my hands shake and my knees tremble. He's there.
We just don't stop and welcome Him, worship Him, bask in His presence and give Him His due. We've made church services a 10:45am to 12:00pm affair. If we actually embraced His presence (without sacrificing valuable teaching/exhortation time) it could be an event in His presence that could take up a great portion of our day (if not all of it). People wouldn't want to leave.
I believe, for practical application, that one of the ways to begin this is to simply NOT GET UP from the ending altar call. You kneel down under the presence that's already been felt and press in to something greater.
If you press in to something more, I believe eventually others will follow your example.
I believe people these days are blind and deaf to the presence of God. I also believe not everyone would follow suit. They would look at you like you were a zealot. If the teaching were of some importance rather than a "self-help" meeting then people wouldn't come to church at all. That is just my opinion.
I meant you, Jeanette, in saying "too" (just in case it wasn't clear). :-)
I've read your blog long enough Slw, I was pretty sure it was me you agreed with. :) Thanks for clarifying though! It's always nice to know for certain.
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