Why Am I Going to Church?

2 Corinthians 9:13 – Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else. (NIV)

I had wakened with a dry, sore throat, and I questioned myself as to whether I would go to church or stay at home.

As I thought about this I asked myself, "Why am I going to church?"

For one, I had sold a book to a dear lady and had forgotten to take it the previous week. She had insisted I take the money; now I owed her the book. For another, I had invited a woman to join me in the worship service at church, and I felt I must not let her down. There was a third thing I had to do, but it could have been done by phone rather than by going to church.

As I thought it all through, I questioned myself once more, "What is it that I am most interested in, in being there?"

Was it the people who were counting on me? Would it have been different if I hadn't felt obligated to them? To be honest and to answer truthfully, had I not been obligated to fellow Christians, most likely, I would have stayed home. But because of the arrangements I had made, I needed to be there as an encouragement to others and in obedience to God.

But after I had finished struggling with this, my answer to the original question, "Why am I going to church?" had to be to follow Jesus and to worship God, and for no other reason. This is the answer for us all, and the reason we are drawn by the Holy Spirit to attend the church of our choice.

Hebrews 10:25 – Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching. (NKJV)

Prayer: Most holy God, our Father in heaven, encourage each one of us to overcome the things of life that hold us back from being in Your presence. Enable each of us to assemble ourselves together in celebration and praise to You, for the love and sacrifice You have given us through Your Son Jesus Christ, in Whose name we pray. Amen.

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