“But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided to you.” (Matthew 6:33 NASB)
Typically, on Sunday morning when I go from the east side to the west side of town to pick up one of our musicians, the streets are smooth sailing. You who live in big cities and you who just refer to the big interstates in your cosmopolitan areas by their number with no “I” before the number such as I-10, but just say “The “10,” you would think you were in heaven where there is plenty of good room, figuratively speaking. However, it was different this past Sunday! Smooth sailing had turned in to a smothering sea of vehicles. You see, it’s State Fair time here in Indiana, and the location where it is held is on my route. Traffic was like a normal workday, a workday where nobody called in and everybody was on the road. On top of that, this past Sunday, there were many pedestrians walking across the streets at stoplights that had been extended to accommodate the crowds coming to the fair. Here is what I was thinking. “It’s church time!” And to be honest, I got judgmental and said to myself, “They must not be church folks.” I went further and thought, “On non-State Fair days they are probably not even up!” The last question I asked myself was, “Don’t they stay open late?” – referring to the State Fair.
I think what I saw was just a microcosm of what is happening in the world today. Too many other things are getting in the way of people being part of the church! Too many events are scheduled at a time where people who recognize the goodness of God normally go to church! The microcosm does not stop there. It expands to all walks of life. Have His created forgot Him, the Creator? Have the crowds forgot the Christ? Has the path that leads to destruction become more alluring; become so attractive that the bright and narrow path of righteousness has been forgotten? Now please tell me you are never one of those people. And tell me, with the exception of emergencies, you don’t let other priorities supersede church attendance, and you don’t let the ways of the world keep you from being an attraction that says in your behavior. “Christ lives in me!” And tell me that you are not hung up in the crowd that is not God-conscious, or Christ centered! Tell me it ain’t so! Great! But be careful because the tempter, the temptations of the world, and the trouble that is caused by your own flesh will attack you relentlessly, regardless of your generational identity. Your enemies have their own form, a negative form, of diversity and inclusion. One last thing. When next Sunday rolls around and you give a thought about going somewhere other than church, physically or virtually, if necessary, ask yourself this question about that “somewhere else,” “Don’t they stay open late?” You know what I am trying to say! Let not the church be depleted by those who offer praises to God be continually decreasing in the number of faithful people, people who should be glad to be in the service, saying, “Look where He brought me from!” Oh, go ahead and praise God right now! Be blessed!
Still committed to the climb,
Mark L. King