Vol.
XL August 1, 2008 No. 8
When We Meet
by Tom
McLemore
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C |
onsider what our attendance
habits might suggest about us....what our usual practice of being present for Sunday morning Bible class,
Sunday morning worship, Sunday evening worship, and Wednesday evening Bible
class whenever we are physically able to be present may say about us....what
our custom of being present every time the church meets could be indicating
about us.
Our habits may suggest something about HOW WE VIEW GOD,
CHRIST, AND THE HOLY SPIRIT . . . that we understand and believe that when the
church gets together, God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit are present in a way
that is not possible when Christians are in solitude. (Matthew 18:20). And that means everything to us,
because they mean everything to us.
We love and appreciate them and could never get enough of thanking them,
talking, singing, preaching about them, praying to them, praising them. (In turn, our attendance habits might
indicate that we are like the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. They are
always present every time the church meets.
They deeply desire to be present; there is no keeping them away)!
Our attendance practice may say something about HOW WE VIEW
THE CHURCH . . . that it is our real family, our calling, our true purpose for
being and that all else is secondary, temporary, and fleeting. It might say that we have a good grasp of the
real nature of the church and its meeting together, viz., that the church is
God’s people, the saved, the sanctified, the saints, and Christ’s body. . . . that the things which
bring us together are the same things which make us the church. . . .that wanting to be part of the church means wanting to be a
part of the meetings of the church. To
us who are present whenever the church meets, being saved and being with the
saved go hand in hand.
Our
attendance habits may suggest that we love the people of God with real love–we
look at them not according to human standards (i.e., whether we like them or
not), but as they are in Christ. If we
don’t like them, we still love them. We
might learn in some cases that the things we don’t like are not as serious as
we first thought. They might not even be
as serious as the things others don’t like about us. 1 Corinthians 12 teaches that the church is
the body of Christ, and that every part is indispensable, and every living
stone vital (1 Peter 2:5).
Our attendance practices may suggest that we really want to
be a part of the people of God, that we really desire the fellowship of God’s
people, and that we enjoy studying together.
They may suggest that what we have in common with the members of the
church is of much greater significance and value to us than what we have in
common with the people of the world. If
for no other reason (but there are many others), we are drawn to the people of
God, not only every time they meet together, but even at other times.
Our attendance custom may indicate that we think of the
church in the same way that people of the world think about the
organizations and activities, not one of the meetings of which they would
even think of missing (e.g., clubs, teams, societies, foundations,
etc.). Missing those meetings would make
them feel sorrow, regret, and even remorse.
They will say “no” to other things so they will not have to miss those
meetings. Missing those meetings might
call in question one’s interest in, seriousness about, or desire for being
members, not to mention one’s loyalty.
Our habit of being present may suggest OUR
PERSPECTIVE ON THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. . . . that we have the right view of the
meetings – not a series of acts to be checked off, not motions through which we
go, but opportunities for
receiving and giving good, for joining with others in praising God, for giving
thanks, and for letting others know they are not alone and reminding us that we
are not alone.
Our attendance custom just might suggest that we have the
right attitude toward living the Christian life–not just doing the very minimum
to get by, but the attitude, “How may I get more learning, encouragement,
closer fellowship? What opportunities do
I have for being where I can get the most support for, reminders of,
strengthening in the things in which I believe?”
Our usually being present whenever the church meets may
indicate OUR VIEW OF OURSELVES and OUR HOPE. . . . that we recognize
the effect our presence may have on someone else who is looking to us for
example, influence, support. In other
words, in the midst of the selfishness of the world, we can see the value and
nobility of thinking about someone other than ourselves . . . something other
than our desires, our wishes, our needs.
Our attendance habits may suggest that we understand what
heaven is like . . . that we want to go there when this life is over, and we
are getting ready for it. The things
which happen every time the church meets are the things that the redeemed will
be doing together eternally. Singing, praising God, contemplating the grace of Christ,
worshiping, serving, in the presence of God, Christ, the angels, the redeemed
of all ages, together.
Heaven will be a never ending meeting of the same group
that meets every time the church meets on earth–God, Christ, the angels, the
redeemed. Here it is periodic. There it will be perpetual. We will enjoy it there, because we enjoy it
here. We will be at home there, because
we are at home here every time the church meets and we meet with the church.
(Please read Psalm 84:1-7).
We who are typically present every time the church meets
have been considering what our attendance practice MIGHT suggest about us. OF COURSE, we might be hypocrites, and
our presence each time the church meets might not truly indicate any of these
things. What might YOUR attendance
habits suggest about YOU? If you are
not a hypocrite, then YOUR attendance habits tell the truth about YOU. If you are something different than what your
attendance habits indicate, don’t you owe it to yourself to bring them in line
with who you really are?
Designed and maintained by Houston Park Church of Christ Copyright © 2000 by Houston Park Church of Christ 2 Crescent Hill Drive Selma, Alabama 36701 334-874-7941. All rights reserved. Revised: 24 Sep 2008.