Ah, Sunday morning. I love Sunday mornings. There is something so special, so healing, so redemptive, so beautiful, so… right… about being in church for worship.
I hear people say, “It’s not important now, it’s your generation’s thing.” And, “That’s just how you were raised back in the 60’s and 70’s.” Or, “Well it’s the post-Covid world and we’re not interested any more.”
But, no, it’s not a generational thing, it is a human thing. And it’s not about being interested, it’s about being complete.
In other words, no matter how you look at it, or what other possibly mitigating factors are involved, being present in worship – as a family, as people acknowledging our Creator and being a faith-based community – is how we were designed and intended as human beings. It is not only the right response to the fact of God, and Christ’s amazing invitation into life, it is the only right response to being human.
Being in faith-based community is not only the rightresponse to the fact of God, and Christ’s amazing invitation into life, it is the only right response to being human.
This actually goes to the Sunday school lesson I am teaching today. I’ve been attending the adult education class that follows our denomination’s “This Present Word” study series, and it’s my turn to lead. The subject is “Defending Our Faith” and the lesson is based on one of my all-time favorite scriptures, 1 Peter 3:8-17.
In it, Peter calls people to “correct behavior”, backs his ideas up with a quote from the Psalms, then rounds out his argument with the suggestion that if people call us out for being Christian, then it is best if the reason they identify us as such is because we are so obviously filled with hope and light and love.
Hope and light and love are essential!
If you believe that hope and light and love are not essential ingredients to life then all I can say is, “Let me extend you an invitation…”
Let me put it this way: there is a specific reason the dark vision of America so many politicians try to leverage appears to be gaining ground: Not enough people are walking in the light. If you are concerned, then the best place to start is by adding hope and light and love to your own life, your own family, your own circle of influence.
It’s not so dark when more people walk in the light
