Sunday Shorts: The Grand Delusion

Mark 6:2 On the Sabbath, Jesus started teaching in the synagogue, and those who heard him were astounded.

“Where did he learn these things?” they asked. “What kind of wisdom has he been given? And what about these amazing miracles he is performing?”

            Over many years of being a pastor, one of the saddest things about ministry that I experienced was the number of people who took their faith for granted and attended church very infrequently. No matter how hard I tried to encourage them to be at worship on Sundays, they always had something else to do with family or friends. They simply believed that God would indulge their lack of dedication to His Son. God would just turn a blind eye and allow them to do what they wanted.

            Nothing could be further from the truth. Jesus, who knows God more personally than we could ever imagine, was always in synagogue on the Sabbath. He wouldn’t dishonor God by neglecting to worship and study on the special day set aside for glorifying His Father. He could have been exempt and gone elsewhere. He could have communicated with God in the flowered fields and hiking the hills. He could have enjoyed the company of family and friends, but instead He chose to be in God’s House with God’s people worshipping God.

            There are many people who have given up on church attendance and a new generation of what’s called ‘nones’ has arisen. They believe in their own version of God, a Supreme Being who watches over them and who will receive them into His Kingdom after death. That’s the biggest lie the devil has spread and sadly, many of the nones will not realize it until it’s too late.

            If weekly worship in God’s House was good enough for Jesus, then shouldn’t it be our priority, too?

Point to ponder: How often do I attend church on Sundays? What would Jesus do?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, we have made up our own image of God to be an indulgent father or grandfather who lets us do what we want and whose infinite compassion will overlook our lack of faith. You never said that. You never taught it. You never lived that way, either. Teach us with Your astounding knowledge and guide us back into God’s House on a weekly basis, so that we may truly be Your followers and God’s servants. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

John Stuart is a retired Scottish Presbyterian pastor now living in Knoxville, Tennessee.