A few years ago I listened to an interview with the pastor of an atheist church. This pastor described a service that sounded very familiar to me, just without references to God and without the use of the name of Jesus. On some level these services met a need and the pastor was proud of how her congregation joined weekly in heart warming fellowship. While I was listening to the interview I had a tough time wrapping my mind around the concept of an atheist church and church services where something…rather someone is missing. But of late I find myself wondering if there are times when I go to church and forget to bring along the One who makes the difference between meaningful worship versus just doing church.
Zechariah 7:1-7 “Should we continue…?”
In Zechariah 7:1-7 we find the people of Israel sending a delegation of men to the house of God to pray and to ask if they should fast. I checked several commentaries and they seem to agree that this took place around the halfway point during the rebuilding of the temple. Things were going well and I guess the people of Israel could see the light at the end of the tunnel that was their 70 year period of exile. With so much going right they were wondering if a time of fasting and mourning was still necessary.
The remnant had developed the habit of fasting and mourning during the fifth and seventh months of the Jewish calendar, marking the anniversaries of the beginning and end of the siege when Nebachadnezzer’s armies showed up at Jerusalem’s doorway. With things looking up, the people sent a delegation to the house of God to find out if they should continue this custom that was more related to the struggles of being in exile as opposed to the success they were finding in rebuilding Jerusalem. In response to their question, God spoke to Zecheriah, giving him a message to deliver to the people of Israel. In short, God chastises the people, saying that when they fasted and prayed they had not been doing so for God. They were doing the right thing but for the wrong reasons and God called them out about this misstep.
Recently, while reading this passage I found myself examining my own heart. I go to church most weeks and often take part in church events during the week. I’ve become good at doing church but am I doing church for the right reasons? Am I doing and saying things just to fit in (or to prove something) or am I responding to the love of God? Is my participation in church activities a result of being God centered or a result of being church centered?
I’ve become good at doing church. But is being good at doing church all that important? After all, what I really need is Christ…period. Yes, church is an important part of my relationship with God and the Bible tells me not to forsake the gathering of the saints. This isn’t about not doing those things as it’s important that God’s children gather to encourage each other, to laugh with each other and at times to cry with each other. The list of reasons for going to church is long but there is a difference between simply doing church and being the church that God has established on earth. That difference is my relationship with Jesus Christ and the presence of His Holy Spirit in my life.
Ultimately, what’s more important? Am I getting good at doing church or am I truly growing in Christ? Which one is most important to you?
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