Sounds like an oxymoron doesn't it. By no means is this post in support of not needing the local church. That you can love God and find God all on your own without the support of a local body. See I love church and when I was single it took being in bed with pneumonia to keep me from attending. I love worshipping with other believers, I love hear the word preached and discussing it with others afterwards. Since being married I have enjoyed debriefing as husband and wife over the message and seeking to apply it to our lives. Since having children I have delighted in seeing Taylor learning God's word on Sunday morning and going over what she was taught that morning. I love it so much that as of late is has been an idol in my heart. Our church is undergoing a lot of construction and it is really exciting to see all that's happening but one groups of people affected is those with children under one. Particularly those, like me, who have children under one walking. So I have spent many Sunday's this past year in the lobby unable to hear the preached word. The Lord in his kindness has used this to bring about contentment in my life. I have learned to trust God to meet me in the lobby- to be thankful to have the opportunity to be around other believers. As of recent months my two children have taken turns being sick. So I have had to forego the lobby and stay at home. Being home has made me thankful for the lobby :-) We all made it in good health last week and I thought we had made it through the sickness trial. So much to my surprise and well disappointment, Taylor was up last night with a runny nose and slept into 9am making for yet another Sunday morning at home. So as I struggle with my sin I am faced with the question- do I love God more than attending church? Do I love God and therefore will delightfully submit to his will for me to stay at home while Chris and others meet together? Can I embrace that loving God means caring for my children and trust that he will meet me,Tara, at home on this Sunday morning? I pray that I would be found faithful!
"All I hath needed his hand will provide. He's always been faithful to me"
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5 comments:
good thoughts, tara.
you were most definitely missed this morning. i was looking for you... :-)
Tara, your thoughts revealed her (w/engaging humility and transparency) will be very encouraging for many young moms at Tempe. God bless!
I also missed church yesterday to take my mother to the hospital. As much as I hate to miss church, God blessed me abundantly! The whole hospital thing worked out wonderfully and today a friend handed me her notes from the message. She had typed them out for me. I also have a suggestion. Our church put an audio feed into the hallway. Now all the moms/dads/fussy babies won't miss the message. But the nice thing about God is, He travels well. He'll be wherever you are.
This is really a thought-provoking post. I've seen some pretty neglected families over the years becaue women have put "doing things" for the church over their children. While it's true that the local church is very important, each person/family must constantly evaluate what the Lord's will is for involvement is in each season of his/her life. This has been something that has come up more for my husband and I since being married.
Thanks for sharing your insights! And for your example!
This is thought-provoking. I've sometimes wondered the same things, especially when I think of the persecuted church. Would I, at the risk of being shot at gunpoint if caught in church, choose to still be there? Or do I sometimes view it as a social club with spiritual food served? And how seriously do I weigh the cost of serving in some capacity that will take me out more nights a month without my family than with them? Or if I have a vision for a ministry that my local church doesn't (which I'm called to but which not be "sanctioned") will I follow God's call with my husband's blessing and feel the freedom to say no to things my local church DOES sanction? Or is there still a "peer pressure" called "fear of man" to do the more visible ministries? All these are good questions to examine. Thanks for making them rise to the top of the pot again, so to speak.
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