WHY DO YOU GO TO CHURCH?

1 Samuel 2:3b

“For the LORD is a God of knowledge, and by Him actions are weighed (examined).”

Dear people of God, today’s topic sounds rather controversial but we will know why shortly.

While I lived in sin, I avoided Church like a plague because in my mind I held the belief that the Church was a place for saints and not sinners. When Jesus Christ in His infinite mercy and love arrested me, I started attending Church and was shocked to still find many who are yet to allow the Word of God change them to new beings as stated in 2 Corinthians 5:17.

As one of my pastors said some time ago, the church is the place where satan visits the most to try to destabilize the regenerated in Christ Jesus so you are bound to see strange characters there and this should not come as a surprise.

On Sunday December 4, 2016, my gate at home was opened and I entered my vehicle to reverse out of the compound to make way for my neighbour to go out.

Behold, I saw an elderly man casually limp (he had a bad leg) through the open gates into the compound, came to me and started telling tales of how he had an accident and how he needed help.

I asked him if he did not have a family that could help him, to which he responded that even his family members also need help.

I told him to hold on, made way for my neighbour to go out, drove back into the compound and came down. I went up, got money and came down to give him. I also decided to preach the Gospel to him because I know begging is not the solution to a person’s problems because the Holy Bible is clear that the righteous is never forsaken nor does his seed beg bread – Psalm 37:25.

I started by asking the man if he stayed around and he said no. I asked where he stayed and he mentioned a place some 10 km away from my area and I was surprised to see the distance he walked to come beg in a neighbourhood he did not know.

I gave him the money before preaching to him so he would not feel I was probing without wanting to help.

Being a Sunday, I asked him if he was a Christian, and he said yes. I asked him if he usually goes to Church and he said yes; I asked if he went to Church that Sunday and he said yes. I asked him the name of his church and he mentioned one of the places known as “church” but where Jesus has said through a testifier that His presence is not there.

I then asked him why he visits such congregation and what he said next shocked me – he said he goes there for survival! I repeated his words aloud to his hearing and he answered in the affirmative.

I then told him that survival cannot be a reason to go to Church but to go look sincerely for Jesus Christ, listen to His Word and fellowship with other brethren as His Word commands – Hebrews 10:25.

I then told him that begging would not help him and that what he should rather do is visit Church to look for Jesus sincerely, diligently study His Word in the Holy Bible, obey it as there are promises therein, act on it and Jesus would surely help him.

I then led him out of my compound and shut the gates and I observed that rather than go the way he came, he chose to go further into my street to look for others to beg but I did not say any more word again to him.

Dear friend, I ask you, why do you go to Church? We’ll talk more on this in my next post by God’s grace.

Gabriel Ama.