Medically, patients are advised to stick to the prescription given to them by their doctors. Some patients, for the hatred of drugs, skip their medications. Of course this habit has negative effects on the patients and usually hamper the quick recovery of such patients. There are some drugs prescribed to be taken once a day, twice or thrice a day; while there are some drugs that are to be taken once a week. This is liken to the behaviour of most Christians.
During the COVID-19 lock down, religious bodies were also locked down. Some Christians took the lockdown as a time for personal reflection and revival; while some took it as a holiday from going to church.
It is not uncommon to see some self acclaimed Christians who have given themselves the prescription of going to church once a week. For some people the kind of job they do only leaves Sundays vacant for church services. For some, their business takes their time from Mondays to Saturdays, so God will only be given His due attention once a week; since they are also too busy for quite time? For others they believe that the worshipping of God is from the heart, as such it does not count if they go to the church only on Sundays. Hence, other weekly activities are for those who are less busy.
As a Christian, have you ever stopped to ask yourself why you go church, since God is looking for those who will worship Him in truth and in spirit? Is it important to go to a place of worship? Or can God be worshipped from the convenience of our homes? Thanks to advancement in technology, worship can be done online. However, is the pastor going to be broadcasting from his bedroom or from a central place of worship?
The church can be likened to going to the school, where we go to receive knowledge. It can also be likened to our business and career where we receive our sources of income. It is, however, of utmost importance to note that whatever we get has only one source; GOD. So if God is our source why do we neglect the most important place and focus on the minute once? No one encourages laziness and idleness but while we go out to seek for daily bread, always remember that GOD is the one that can grant us the needed success that we desire.
The church a place where we go to receive what can be termed as “spiritual education, training and equipment.” While most of our spiritual growth stems from our personal relationship with God, belonging to a bible based church and being consistent in fellowshipping with the brethren is also one undeniable source of spiritual empowerment.
Going to the church is not religiosity. A high recommendation is accorded to those who through thick and thin have remained resolute in their service to God and mankind. Going to church on Sundays and neglecting other weekly activities as slated by our churches is callous and injurious to our spiritual, physical and mental wellbeing. It is the same as going to school on Mondays and staying back at home to study. Is it possible to garner the knowledge needed and graduate with honor and equipped enough to impact positively in the world?
If we view going to church on Sundays and other weekly activities as a fulfillment of all righteousness then we are wrong. It is like going to school because our parents insist. The effort needed for success study will be missing.
Going to church is not to please God but to learn from God things we will not learn even in our most quiet times. Going to church creates an atmosphere of fellowship with God. All forms of distractions are set aside and then it becomes very easy to focus and worship God in truth and in spirit.
On the contrary, staying at home to worship God with family spells doom of failure. This is because the environment is not going to be conducive. There are likely to be distractions here and there.
We do not go to church to add up to the number but to receive the needed spiritual knowledge and revelations that will help us to survive in this end time. Having this mindset will make us to remain focused, kicking off every buying and selling in our heart that will distract us.
