On a recent Sunday morning, as usual, we were late getting to church. The kids, Alton and I all rushed through the parking lot, into the building and then quickly and quietly entered the sanctuary. After finding a place to sit we began singing along with the last few moments of praise and worship music. The worship leader then asked us to bow our heads and join him in a word of prayer. As I lowered my head, I discovered, to my horror, that my shirt was on inside out! I quickly felt the back of my collar and sure enough, there was the tag, hanging out for everyone to see. While the rest of the congregation prayed, I slipped back out of the sanctuary and headed to the restroom to correct my “wardrobe malfunction”. I then made my way back to my seat thinking to myself how grossly unprepared I was for worship.
It struck me that my inside-out shirt was really an outward sign of an inward condition. My soul is pretty disheveled when I make my way into church on Sunday, because I haven’t spent nearly enough time getting ready for worship. I like to sleep in on Sundays and then ease into the day, sipping coffee and surfing the ‘net. Then, at the last possible moment, I end up rushing to get ready for church and out the door.
There is something in the “every Sunday-ness” of church that’s led my heart to believe that, as long as I actually make it to church, I’m good to go. My inside-out shirt spoke volumes about the fallacy of that line of thinking. Especailly when I compare the condition of my heart with these words in Hebrews 10:22 “Let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water”
What can we do to better prepare for worship? Well, I’m clearly not an authority on these matters, but I’m thinking that a good night’s sleep is a good place to start. The Jews begin the Sabbath on Saturday at sundown, that’s not a bad idea! Also, it couldn’t hurt to spend some time reading the Bible and praying prior to heading out the door. These are the things that prepare our hearts for God’s message. These are the things that “Let us Draw Near”.
1 comment:
I am very pleased to hear your comment concerning preparing for worship, it helps me to remember that God had the plan all along when he instituted Sabbath. One note to correct however is that Sabbath came before the Jews when God created the world and that it is the 7th day, Saturday, that was and is the Sabbath and is also the same observed by Jews and Jesus himself. Sabbath begins at sundown on Friday and goes through sundown on Saturday. I thought I would get these facts to you to help with your Moment For Mom posting. Rest goes a long way and I'm glad God set aside a time for us to do so.
Post a Comment