Well, what are you going to do, the soccer game is going into overtime, and we cannot leave now, Matt would not understand, so we choose the game, and settle in until the end. We normally go to church on Saturday nights and serve on the Sunday morning. Josh has already hinted that he will not be going to church tomorrow, as football season is in full swing not, and he has a couple of games that he just can’t miss. Josh is settled into his chair, his jersey on, bowl of popcorn and a bottle of cold beer ready for kickoff. Our little girl Megan comes out in her Sunday best dress, but she is confused, no-one else is dressed up, so I have to explain to her that there were more important things we had to do today, but we know Jesus will understand, because he loves us so much, Megan nods then goes back to her room to change.
Twenty Years Later
Megan is working very hard, she manages a women’s store, actually three of them in her region. She puts in seventy hour weeks, and hardly has time for her new husband Steve. They took a short week off for a honeymoon, but she checked in with the office even while on honeymoon, not wanting to lose control of her department even while away. Steve is somewhat annoyed at Megan’s dedication to her job, mostly because you have to compete with it to get any of her time. Last week Steve wanted to go to a church in the area that they had moved into, it has services Saturday night and Sunday too. He thought it would help to grow together in church, but Megan had no desire to go. When she was growing up, her father always showed the importance of going to church “when” an NFL game wasn’t on. There were fishing trips, soccer games and tournaments that always seemed to conflict with church, and she had noticed they had always won out. Church was dead last in their lives, something you did when no-one was playing, when soccer, baseball, and basketball seasons aren’t going, then you can stop by, if you have nothing better to do. That is how she had decided to run her family.
I have come to wonder about this, allowing sports or other items to get in the way of the fellowship. I have read recently in the book of Luke 9:57-62 about the urgency in picking up our crosses, denying ourselves and following Christ. The scripture reads;
57As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.”
58Jesus replied, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”
59He said to another man, “Follow me.”
But the man replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”
60Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”
61 Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-by to my family.”
62Jesus replied, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”
This man wanted to lay his father to rest, yet Jesus told him “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” My footnotes state that he is referring to the spiritually dead burying the physically dead. Jesus wants us to begin the work in earnest, not dawdling but boldly stepping up. When we place things in our schedule that conflict with our worshipping God, are we not being urgent?
God Bless
JFT
Jim, This made me think of Hebrews 10:25 – “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” I always wonder about high school sports teams that have practices on Sunday during church, making kids choose between church and playing sports at all because they can’t play if they miss even one practice. With all of the other hours in the week, you would think they could avoid Sunday mornings as practice times. Peace, Linda
Linda,
Yes, you would think they would be a bit more considerate to those who are church folks. Our pastors son was a professional level soccer player in high school, he had a free ride scholarship to college, but they were running all the time. So the pastor talked to his son about it, and they both agreed to let it go because it was getting in the way of his faith and worship. His son now is an excellent pastor too. God Bless
Jim
So much to draw us away from meeting with Him, from serving, from worshiping. So easy to fall back on Him understanding . .. which He does. But do we? Do we understand what we are giving up each time we chose something else over Him?
God bless you and prepare your heart for your upcoming trip!
Deb,
I don’t think we do understand what we are doing, it is kinda like that frog in the warm water, he thinks he’s fine. God needs to be first in our lives and we need to be willing to give firstly to him. First fruits are our best, much of our firstfruits are time. God Bless, and thank for the prayers on my trip!
Jim