I believe in God, why go to church?
A large and growing portion of our population believes in God, many even claiming to be Christian, see no reason to go to church. Busy lives, bad experiences, no experience, uncertainty of beliefs and countless other reasons erase the perceived value in gathering in the name of Christ. I say perceived because like other parts of our well being, the result of neglecting it isn’t something we notice right away. It’s a gradual process to start feeling worse from a lack of exercise, gain weight from a poor diet or stress, lose imagination from monotony, and if we’ve never had something, we don’t know what we’re missing anyway. The deficit eventually shows itself quite plainly, though we may not know how or why it got so out of control.
“Home Sweet Home”
It’s as old a saying as any, home sweet home is an homage to the comfort and peace that comes with isolation from the outside world in a familiar environment. Unfortunately home sweet home is losing its meaning. Sarcasm is increasingly it’s common use as we return from a long day only to begin a new schedule of must dos or family conflicts. Internet, television, video games, homework, work from home, cell phones and more can destroy the tranquility of home and bring the world right in with us. The place of solace a home should be gets lost and all we want to do is “get away”. Those who can afford it find and return to a favorite vacation spot, buy a beach house or cabin in the woods, a “home away from home” to seek the comfort and rejuvenation we get from knowing what to expect and relieving ourselves from our responsibilities, if only for a while.
Home is more than a place, it’s a feeling. “You can never go home again” is reflective of the ever changing world and our ever changing selves. Home for most people is a time and place of consistency, free from interruptions and pressure.
But Church?