01/11/2025
"One day when you're an adult living on your own, you'll have to make a choice on Sunday mornings. And I want you to be people who choose a cold morning drive to church rather than a warm bed for a few extra hours."
It was blunt, but honest. Said as we were pulling out of the driveway running a little late for church.
"The Lord is coming back like a thief in the night. No one knows the hour or the day. When He comes back, be someone who is found in Christ, putting Him first."
Said with a sense of urgency. It all just came spilling out. My concern that they would one day be tempted to wander too, like the song says, "leave the God they knew." If anything, my children will know how their mama felt about such things. As they should.
I want them to know that I'm giving them a foundation, but they will have to build on it. And that I expect them to. That we don't just get up and go to church on Sundays because we have nothing better to do. We're not trying to be nice people who do nice things so that others think nice things about us. No. We don't go to church because we're good people. We go to church because He's a good God and we need him.
When I was growing up, my dad would speak to us in moments like this. Moments that seemed to just present themselves out of no where. He would be traversing the steps and stop and turn around and tell us kids something from his heart. It's those moments that meant so much to me as a child that I still remember now.
"There will be times you don't feel like going. But go anyways. Because you'll never regret it. You'll never once go to church when you just didn't feel like going and regret it. You'll always be glad you did. You'll say to yourself, "wow, I almost missed that." And this will come back to you the next time you just don't feel like going. And the next time. And the time after that. Because there will always be times that you just don't feel like going. But remember what I'm saying to you right now. And go anyways.”
-written by The Messy Christian
