I’ve heard more than one person, in my time, make the comment “I don’t have to go to church to be a Christian”. Fair enough, I won’t argue with you. But I will say this: you may just be missing out on something with that perspective!
One day, during basic training, we marched out to an old building in the middle of the woods. The building, it turned out, was a gas chamber. We were about to have a ‘hands on’ experience with chemical warfare. Dividing into groups of 10 – 15 we donned our gas masks and marched dutifully into the building where we were shown the various forms of chemical warfare we might expect to encounter in combat. Solids, liquids and, of course, gas filled the room. After a brief block of instruction describing how to identify – and what to do in the event of – chemicals – we were told to remove the gas masks and breathe in the noxious fumes. Not until everyone in the room began to display the effects of inhaling the gas, would the doors be unlocked allowing us to venture back out into the clean winter air. This was a real “have to” situation! Every one of us took as deep a breath as we could before removing the masks hoping beyond hope that the Drill Sergeant wouldn’t notice and would let us out but, one by one, we began to succumb to the gas. Eyes, noses, throats and chests burned. Tears and snot flowed freely. Finally, after everyone had been successfully drawn into this near death experience, the door was open and we were free.
While in the building I “had to” breathe but once outside I “got to” breathe. Oh, sure, in one sense I “had to” breathe outside in order to stay alive – clear my lungs – process oxygen – but boy did it feel good now! What I once took for granted I now cherished!
Back to the church thing – in Psalm 122:1 David says “I rejoiced with those who said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord.'” (NIV) Although, under the Mosaic Law, the Jews were required to ‘go to church’ David didn’t view it as a burden but, rather, as a blessing! Were there other things David could’ve done? Did he have outside interests? Of course. He was a shepherd, warrior, hunter (bare handed even!) – not to mention king with a few royal obligations. Although he led an exciting life (read ‘adrenaline fueled’) and certainly experienced the hand of God in many places, he got excited about going to church! It was there he could worship, sing, learn, rest and celebrate the relationship he had with God and do so with friends and family. He could take a break from the week, get centered, focused, filled and simply enjoy the undistracted presence of his savior.
They say familiarity breeds contempt. Probably so. I never realized how great it was to “get to” breathe good, clean air until I “had to” breathe the bad. If going to church for you is nothing more than an item to check off the to do list – if it’s a “have to” and not a “get to” – I think you’re missing something. After-all Jesus said he came that we may have life, and have it to the full (Jn 10:10)!
Mountain View Christian Center 