Will
2004-01-22 02:46:40 UTC
A Sunday In The Life
by Adam Porter
Culture and tradition have robbed us of many blessings in the 21 st
century church. Not the least of these is the loss of the Fourth
Commandment. For those of you thinking I go to church every Sunday
and others about to put this down to avoid another guilt trip about
missing services, hear me out. This is for you. Some of my earliest
memories are of church. My family was the "go whenever the doors are
open" variety. I have for years interpreted the Fourth Commandment
this way as well, an imperative to attend weekly church services.
In my childhood I lived for the competition of the Bible drills and the
sweet reward of Tootsie Pops or Smarties for the winner. My young
life is filled with images of flannel graphs and chorus lyrics scrawled
on poster board in bright block letters. In my teen years I drifted
between intense guilt and blanket indifference, but I was still there
whenever the doors were open. In other words, the discipline of
church attendance was ingrained in my very soul. I continued the
behavior as a young single adult, even speaking or teaching Sunday
School from time to time all the while feeling quite secure that I was
keeping the Sabbath just as God intended.
I married and started rearing a child intent on bequeathing the
discipline to my new family . Remember the Sabbath Day to keep it
holy, buzzed in my ears each time I found myself frustrated at having
to remind my son for the "millionth time" to remember his Bible and go
put on a belt . Again, when I was off to the bedroom to remind my
wife that we were supposed to leave five minutes agoonly to see her pop
out of the closet holding two different skirts for my inspection.
These conversations were followed all too often with the spontaneous
spousal argument on the way to church. Whether our nerves were just
fried from the frantic pace of the morning or we had too much to say on
our only "day together" the exchanges were always heated, abrupt and
often frivolous.
We arrive at church five to ten minutes late, file in with the majority
of the congregation and take our usual spot (right side, six or seven
rows back) and began to sing along with the worship choir, already
halfway through the first verse. The music is usually good and the
lyrics touching, the pastor's message as well. He dismisses with a
quip about beating the denomination down the road to the Steakhouse.
Some part of me wonders how we are supposed to invite the "unsaved" to
church and still expect buffet restaurants and supermarkets to keep
their doors open. Another part of me wonders if I have just answered
my own question. We all leave feeling relatively happy and refreshed,
especially my son, who has a pocketful of chocolate to thank him for
remembering to bring the Bible he nearly forgot. He offers me one and
I feel justly worthy. Depending on our afternoon plans we stand in
line at the restaurant or deli counter and then head somewhere for the
game. On the way we pass another church building, the Lightning
Service (guaranteed one hour!) they advertise long since over. My son
and nephews do whatever comes to mind while the guys watch the game and
the girls chat, and before we know it we are all dozing and fighting to
keep our eyes open for the ESPN highlights. As we head home I reflect
that I have missed another day of my son's childhood, nine years old
does not last forever, and my wife has talked for six or seven hours
straight and I have no idea what about. Nor does she know what has
been going through my mind since our quick kiss and make up in the
church parking lot that morning. Seems it only took a few years for
tell me all your secrets to become we'll talk later. This was a
typical day in my family growing up so why do I feel so convicted?
I'm just a regular guy. This sequence of events is normal. It's
what I've been doing all my life. Church Day is important. It says
so right here in Exodus 20:8, Remember the Sabbath Day to keep it holy
. So what am I doing wrong? Everything, it seems. The verse
stares up at me and I dig out my Strongs.
The Sabbath is a gift from God and Jesus claims lordship over it,
compelling us to do good on this day of rest. Mark 2:27-28, Matthew
12:12). Remember -- to be mindful of . Sabbath -- desist from
exertion, cease work, celebrate, rest . Holy -- set apart,
sanctified, completely prepared, to appoint , an action word. It
seems then, that the Sabbath is to be a day of intentional, consecrated
rest. It is the melding of reverence and frivolity, a day where we
must enjoy the blessings of God with religious fervor and see to it
that others have that opportunity as well. We see it as the day to
show up at church. We have taken the gift of rest God has given us and
turned it into a ritual of tension and competition. Small wonder those
around us see Christians as joyless hypocrites.
Our pastors and church leaders, either through misunderstanding or
intention, have encouraged this misconception, bowing too often to the
mob rule of what we expect. Before anyone clicks off this in a huff
and logs off their computers, hear me out. I am NOT advocating a mass
exodus from the church. The Christian church in America has many
problems, but to abandon it to convenience or exasperation is to quite
literally cut off your nose to spite your face. We are, after all,
the bodyof Christ. What then should Sabbath mean to the 21 st century
men? Ask yourself this: are my activities on my Day of Rest truly
restful? Am I using my Sabbath Day to enjoy the family, friends and
gifts God has given me?
Set it apart. On purpose. Turn a moment of silence and an hour of
worship into a day of rest. Remember his gifts to you and take time
to enjoy them. Teach your families to do the same. Make God's gift
to you your legacy to them.
by Adam Porter
Culture and tradition have robbed us of many blessings in the 21 st
century church. Not the least of these is the loss of the Fourth
Commandment. For those of you thinking I go to church every Sunday
and others about to put this down to avoid another guilt trip about
missing services, hear me out. This is for you. Some of my earliest
memories are of church. My family was the "go whenever the doors are
open" variety. I have for years interpreted the Fourth Commandment
this way as well, an imperative to attend weekly church services.
In my childhood I lived for the competition of the Bible drills and the
sweet reward of Tootsie Pops or Smarties for the winner. My young
life is filled with images of flannel graphs and chorus lyrics scrawled
on poster board in bright block letters. In my teen years I drifted
between intense guilt and blanket indifference, but I was still there
whenever the doors were open. In other words, the discipline of
church attendance was ingrained in my very soul. I continued the
behavior as a young single adult, even speaking or teaching Sunday
School from time to time all the while feeling quite secure that I was
keeping the Sabbath just as God intended.
I married and started rearing a child intent on bequeathing the
discipline to my new family . Remember the Sabbath Day to keep it
holy, buzzed in my ears each time I found myself frustrated at having
to remind my son for the "millionth time" to remember his Bible and go
put on a belt . Again, when I was off to the bedroom to remind my
wife that we were supposed to leave five minutes agoonly to see her pop
out of the closet holding two different skirts for my inspection.
These conversations were followed all too often with the spontaneous
spousal argument on the way to church. Whether our nerves were just
fried from the frantic pace of the morning or we had too much to say on
our only "day together" the exchanges were always heated, abrupt and
often frivolous.
We arrive at church five to ten minutes late, file in with the majority
of the congregation and take our usual spot (right side, six or seven
rows back) and began to sing along with the worship choir, already
halfway through the first verse. The music is usually good and the
lyrics touching, the pastor's message as well. He dismisses with a
quip about beating the denomination down the road to the Steakhouse.
Some part of me wonders how we are supposed to invite the "unsaved" to
church and still expect buffet restaurants and supermarkets to keep
their doors open. Another part of me wonders if I have just answered
my own question. We all leave feeling relatively happy and refreshed,
especially my son, who has a pocketful of chocolate to thank him for
remembering to bring the Bible he nearly forgot. He offers me one and
I feel justly worthy. Depending on our afternoon plans we stand in
line at the restaurant or deli counter and then head somewhere for the
game. On the way we pass another church building, the Lightning
Service (guaranteed one hour!) they advertise long since over. My son
and nephews do whatever comes to mind while the guys watch the game and
the girls chat, and before we know it we are all dozing and fighting to
keep our eyes open for the ESPN highlights. As we head home I reflect
that I have missed another day of my son's childhood, nine years old
does not last forever, and my wife has talked for six or seven hours
straight and I have no idea what about. Nor does she know what has
been going through my mind since our quick kiss and make up in the
church parking lot that morning. Seems it only took a few years for
tell me all your secrets to become we'll talk later. This was a
typical day in my family growing up so why do I feel so convicted?
I'm just a regular guy. This sequence of events is normal. It's
what I've been doing all my life. Church Day is important. It says
so right here in Exodus 20:8, Remember the Sabbath Day to keep it holy
. So what am I doing wrong? Everything, it seems. The verse
stares up at me and I dig out my Strongs.
The Sabbath is a gift from God and Jesus claims lordship over it,
compelling us to do good on this day of rest. Mark 2:27-28, Matthew
12:12). Remember -- to be mindful of . Sabbath -- desist from
exertion, cease work, celebrate, rest . Holy -- set apart,
sanctified, completely prepared, to appoint , an action word. It
seems then, that the Sabbath is to be a day of intentional, consecrated
rest. It is the melding of reverence and frivolity, a day where we
must enjoy the blessings of God with religious fervor and see to it
that others have that opportunity as well. We see it as the day to
show up at church. We have taken the gift of rest God has given us and
turned it into a ritual of tension and competition. Small wonder those
around us see Christians as joyless hypocrites.
Our pastors and church leaders, either through misunderstanding or
intention, have encouraged this misconception, bowing too often to the
mob rule of what we expect. Before anyone clicks off this in a huff
and logs off their computers, hear me out. I am NOT advocating a mass
exodus from the church. The Christian church in America has many
problems, but to abandon it to convenience or exasperation is to quite
literally cut off your nose to spite your face. We are, after all,
the bodyof Christ. What then should Sabbath mean to the 21 st century
men? Ask yourself this: are my activities on my Day of Rest truly
restful? Am I using my Sabbath Day to enjoy the family, friends and
gifts God has given me?
Set it apart. On purpose. Turn a moment of silence and an hour of
worship into a day of rest. Remember his gifts to you and take time
to enjoy them. Teach your families to do the same. Make God's gift
to you your legacy to them.
--
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