The Worst Thing Possible . . .

When I was growing up it seemed that most people went to church, irrespective of which church they went to, be it Protestant or Roman Catholic, Church or Chapel. It was, by and large, the norm, certainly as far as I could see. Gradually, as I got older, things changed, and part of the change was that fewer and fewer people went to church. There were many and varied reasons put forward for this decline in attendance, some of them justified, others mere excuses, and the greater factor was always the latter. Of course, church attendance is a matter of habit like so many things in our lives. Once you start to go to church it demonstrates that you have organised your time to allow you to go, and this is something that you do because you feel a need to do. it soon becomes a habit, and so you attend regularly, irrespective of what you get out of going. Equally true is the fact that if you stop going for some reason for a few weeks then it soon becomes a change of habit, and you find that you can easily stop going altogether because, you reason, after all is said and done, you never really got a lot out of going anyway.

The whole process is gradual. So gradual that you hardly notice it. Instead of going every week you start to go every other week, then every month, then every three months. As the years roll on by attendance is reserved for the so-called 'special' services such as Easter and Christmas. Of course you still go to church for the 'hatchem - matchem - despatchem' services of Baptism, Marriage and Funerals, but that doesn't really count somehow, at least not in your book.

Of course the way that we live has changed drastically as well. When I was a boy there was no sport on a Sunday, and the shops were very firmly closed and shuttered. It was still a time when women dare not hang out their washing on a Sunday for fear of recrimination by their neighbours, or worse, a visit from the local priest or vicar the next day. Nowadays church services are just one of many options for people on a Sunday. The shops are open for business and are busier often than on many other weekdays. There is plenty of sport to watch, or if you want something different, you can go to a car-boot sale or visit a garden centre, or one of a plethora of other attractions.

Thanks to the 'Benefit Culture' we in the Western world live in a time when even the poor are rich by most world standards, despite the fact that the people concerned invariably don't think so. It has become normal for families to boast of house ownership rather than home rental, to have two or even three cars per family, and often, in a typically modern family, to have TV sets in almost every room, some so large that they take up half the wall-space. This is not to mention several computers , dvd players, i-pods, mobile phones, and the like between the different members of the family. Each year there will be resentment if a continental holiday, often costing the average family group an amount that's well into four figures, is not forthcoming.

Yet these same people consider themselves poor! I wonder whether they ever stop to think about the real poor in the world where people often have no idea whether or not they will eat today. Yet the poor in the Western world throw food away into the trash because they bought more than they needed!

So what's has this got to do with the price of eggs? You might well ask! The answer is that it has everything to do with it. When church attendance is high it can be seen that there are more people with a social conscience that causes them to think of others rather than themselves, that causes them to help the real poor by going without some of their wealth. Worshipping in fellowship together means that often the social conscience will be a shared one, and that is usually when thought is translated into action.

Many who still go to church look aghast at those who not only don't go, but also have no conception of what it all means. Yet whose fault is it that so many people have turned away from the church? Whose fault is it that so many people grow up with virtually no understanding about Christianity, about who Jesus was and is, and about what church is all about? Many will answer that it's the fault of the people who don't bother to find out for themselves, yet I would argue that it's the fault of the remnant who still attend, for theirs is the failure to do as commanded by our Lord and take the Gospel to those who need to hear it. None of us can be held responsible for an individuals decision to ignore the Gospel, but anyone who fails to share it as Jesus commanded His followers to do, is responsible.

To be complacent about one's own salvation status with no regard for that of others is to be the complete opposite of all that Christ calls us to be. Jesus said that not everyone who cries out "Lord! Lord!" will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. How terrible it would be to arrive at Heaven's door after a lifetime of church attendance, only to hear Jesus say, "I never knew you." To me that would be the worst thing possible.

How can we ensure that this will not be our lot when that day comes? Why, simply by doing as our Lord has commanded and sharing the Gospel message with everyone we possibly can. By being burdened for the souls of the lost sheep, and feeling a need to help lead them into the Kingdom that has no end. To do it all for love, not of ourselves, but for love of Christ and love of our fellow human beings.

We live in an age where other religious groups, sensing the apathy of the Western world, are making serious inroads and proselytizing more fervently than ever before. Islam has an aim of world domination where every human being left alive will be a Muslim. Cults such as the Mormons and the Jehovah's Witnesses are extremely active when it comes to spreading their word, and in many areas their churches are flourishing.

Is it not probable that much of the fault lies with the Church itself? For decades the Gospel has been watered down until it is almost indistinguishable from the original message. Many pulpits shower the congregations with heretic teaching that teaches that the Bible is NOT the ABSOLUTE TRUTH! Various priests, vicars, ministers, etc., refute the Virgin Birth and an increasing number also refute the Resurrection. WHY ON EARTH ARE THEY STILL IN OFFICE? If they don't believe what the Bible says what are they doing in their priest's garments? Surely they are guilty of continuing in their employment under false pretences?

It's time for the Church to preach the Word of God without fear and without excuse. No matter that many who belong to the politically-correct brigade may get upset, what is needed in order for the perpetuation of the human race is a recognition of God as the Creator, as Jesus Christ as the Saviour, and the Holy Spirit as Comforter and Guide. The time for the Church to get its act together is NOW! Yesterday would have been infinitely better, but yesterday has gone, never to return. Tomorrow may well be too late!

I for one want to all that I can to ensure that when I am called to Glory it will be by a Saviour who recognises me, not one who looks at me and says "I never knew you!"