Monday 26 August 2013

NOTE TO THE 21ST CENTURY CHURCH-GOER (WORKER)

So this post here is a little departure from my usual relationship posts but it has to do with the most important relationship in my life- my relationship with my heavenly Father.
I have been doing a whole lot of soul-searching of late and this is the message I have been preaching to myself. I just thought to share and hope it will bless at least one soul.
In this knowledge-crazy generation that we live in, so many people have found succour in spirituality. Almost everybody has a “religion” that he/she practises.
I am a Christian. Unashamedly so. And so are so many others.
But there is one real fear that constantly tugs at my heart. How many of us professed Christians are really registered in God’s book as His children?
You see, going to church is like a fashion fad nowadays, everybody does it. It’s the in-thing to belong to the coolest church. The church you attend is now like your latest and most trendy accessory.
Hmmmm… a wise man once said to me “Dami, if you will serve God, you better make sure you are serving Him wholly and completely. And if you want to be a sinner, you had better made sure you enjoy every sinful pleasure this world has to offer. There is no reward for half-measures”.
Let me break that down. After life is death and then judgment. Where you spend eternity is dependent on the life you lived here on earth. You either got to heaven or hell. There is NO sitting on the fence.
It is easy to get carried away by church activities and the religiosity of it all. But the most important factor is your intimate relationship with Christ. You can be the most gifted vocalist in the choir and still end up in hell. You can be the most dedicated and the most punctual usher and still end up in hell-fire. You can be the most reliable worker in your church office and still end up in hell.
Eternity does not respond to activity. Eternity responds to a relationship – your relationship with Christ.
You are either a Christian or you are not. Mixing worldly pleasures with your Christian walk is a fundamental error. You can’t be a sinner from Monday through to Saturday and on Sunday; you dust your Bible and stroll into church. Do you think God is deceived? He sees through the fabric of your being to the very heart of your soul. He knows if you are His or not.
I said all of that to say this, church activity will never take you to heaven. A relationship with God will.
If you are engaged in so much church activity and yet you indulge in secret sin, you are wallowing in folly. You know why? Cos you loose here and you loose in eternity too.
If you want to sin, you better make sure you sin explicitly so that when you get to hell, you can be sure of what earned you a place there. Landing in hell-fire is not a function of how big or small or secret or open your sin is. It’s a function of SINNING. It’s that simple. Making heaven is not based on the fact that your good moments were more than your sinful moments. It’s a function of the state of your heart…your relationship with God.
Church-goer or church-worker, please make sure all your actions are rooted out of a genuine relationship with Christ. If not, it’s all a grand waste of time.
Let me balance this up. Christians slip and fall. Yes, a Christian can make a mistake and sin. The essential thing is getting up and going back to our Father in repentance. A true Christian is never comfortable in a sinful state.
The crux of the matter is this…choose you this day where you want to spend eternity and live your every moment chasing that destination.
Love y'all