Shively Christian Church

Rob has mentioned the CEO crowd  (Christmas and Easter Only) and I was talking with someone Sunday morning about a friend of theirs who thinks their mother is a solid church goer. "Sure she goes," he said "every Easter." As if attending once a year was a sure marker for being faithful. So, i wonder if other areas and influences in our life would feel the same.

 

Sure, I pay my water bills. Once a year, same day every year.

Result :: No water.

 

Sure, I love eating. I do it every Thanksgiving.

Result :: Death by starvation.

Sure, I tell my wife I love her. Every year on our anniversary.

Result :: Strained and unstable relationship.

 

You get the point, right? We cannot expect to have an actual relationship with God by attending church once a year, thinking that wll cover us.We cannot expect to grow. We cannot think for a moment that our spiritual life is any sort of life at all.

 

I saw a family leave third service Sunday morning during the invitation. I have never seen them before, and I may never see them again. But their response to the invitation was telling.  Every week we make a concious decision at invitation time.

 

Either we respond in a way that confirms our relationship with God, or we shove Him aside yet again. I do not presume to make judgment on that family. There may have been a family emergency, or a roast that was burning if they didn't get there in time. But their actions made me think.

 

We cannot expect God to think that we are honoring Him by bowing to a strange cultural obligation rather than to Him out of love.

 

Now, don't get me wrong. I am happy about every single soul that walks through the doors. My concern though is in their sincerity. I don't think it's venturing into legalism to expect more than an annual nod to God. Jesus said, not everyone who says "Lord, Lord." will enter the kingdom. Merely acknowledging God doesn't cut it. Jesus also said that even the demons say there is a God, but they shudder. There is an acknowledgment of authority and power.

 

It's not about getting bigger numbers, it's about the people and their relationship with God. If you know a CEO, please try to encourage them to take  their walk with God a little more seriously. Their life today, and in eternity depends on that realtionship.