Pills, Doctors and Church! April 28, 2012
Softball season is just around the corner. You know what that means? Softball practice has begun. And that means aches and pains as muscles are used that have been dormant for months. At this very moment, as I type this article, I am in slight pain (just enough so I feel justified complaining to my wife, but not so much that I actually fear I may have damaged anything). I will bear the pain. I do not like to take pills (ever read the small print? May cause hardening of the arteries, stroke, blindness, constipation, heart attacks etc.) because I sometimes think they will cause more harm than good. When the aches and pain get too bad my wife tells me I should go to see our doctor. I'm not sure why I tend to put off making the appointment. I like my doctor, he is a nice guy. And he usually can help me. But for some reason, I just procrastinate when it comes to getting in to see him.
I was thinking, lots of people see church like taking pills and seeing a doctor.
Like taking a pill. Some people don't go to church because they have this deep seated feeling that somehow it will only make things worse. After all, they may know someone who went to church and, well, they are different now. The side affects changed them. Now they talk about God all the time, and they're always inviting their friends to "find what they found". To some people that's just scary!
Like seeing a doctor. I talked with a guy last week in a Vinton McDonalds. He said that he and his wife were looking for a church, but he always found a reason not to go. Man, I sure appreciated his honesty. I thought, "You'd fit in so well at our church, where we are a real church of real people." There are lots of people who could start going to church tomorrow, but they won't. They know they have a desire to go. They feel like it would probably be good for them if they went. They just put it off.
So how can we help people to see the church differently, than a pill or a doctor. Hmmm. Never really thought about the answer to that question when I started writing this. But I think I have a suggestion: People usually put off taking the pill, or seeing a doctor when they know something is wrong, but they definitely don't think it is THAT serious. When someone discovers they have cancer, they usually find time to see a doctor. If they have a serious illness and the doc tells them that the key to life is taking their pills, they will take their pills.
We need to understand that all of us, even pastors, have a serious illness. It is called sin. And the outcome of sin is always death. Death of real life. Death of lasting joy and happiness. The death of the dream of real success. The solution: we need to see the "great physician (a name for Jesus in the Bible) and take the medication He instructs us to take. Take daily: 1 authentic prayer of confession of sin, prayer for forgiveness, mercy and grace (may be taken as needed); 1 relationship with Jesus (which is activated by the first prescription for prayer), So relationship is properly absorbed into the body take with daily prayer (talking with Jesus), Bible reading (learning about Jesus), kindness to others, love for God, others and self (the great commandment); You should almost immediately begin to see yourself becoming the person you were made to be. When this prescription is filled, you will see numerous benefits almost immediately. Guilt will decrease significantly, peace and joy will enter your daily life. You will find renewed hope in every situation. Loneliness will disappear. May you find the remedy you need, and time with the Great Physician in church this weekend. Make the appointment.
Valley View Wesleyan
The Church On The Rise!
better care of the physical properties of the church, plan and execute renovations, mowing of our lot and field, participate and help schedule church-wide work days, as well as routine repairs and general maintenance. If you are interested please call the church office and leave a message with any of our church Trustees: Lisa Smith, Mark Lloyd or Melvin Collins.
