Martha Olawale

“Let us rejoice and shout for joy! Let us give Him glory and honor, for the marriage of the Lamb has come [at last], and His bride (the redeemed) has prepared herself.” Revelation 19:7

I live in a society that has become complacent in its approach to the community of believers, which is one of the greatest blessings of our faith. Where I grew up, the Church is vital to Christianity, and it shows. Despite the uproar and many misses in the country, Christians are thriving, and the Church is joyful and growing; oh, the joy of the Church in Nigeria!

This mental shift of the relative need to attend Church in the West stems from the gradual pull to shrug off the necessity of the Church as a spiritual life source. It demands that everything be rosy and comfortable physically and for our schedule. An entitled mentality that believes our going to Church is to favor God instead of the expectation that God blesses us with His presence when we attend.

Sadly, many beloved sons and daughters of God have allowed their minds to travel down this patchy path, forgetting the beauty of our salvation rests at the foot of the bloody, messy cross of Christ. The road to Calvary wasn’t pretty, so the music doesn’t always have to sound like angels are singing, and the children's church does not have to fit our preferred theme. The Church is an assembly, not a club. Think of the upper room, where the first Church gathered, and let that encourage your resolve to go.

You don’t stop eating altogether because you had a bad experience at a particular restaurant. I’m also sure you didn’t give up on food just because one spoonful had a weird taste last year. Why, then, do you allow the devil to steal your primary source of peace and joy by convincing you to stop drawing from the portion of salvation enjoyed only in the Church? Only through Jesus can you experience the fullness of life, and only in Him can you truly live in your true identity. Much of that comes from fellowshipping with other Christians, so go to CHURCH!

I’ve been privileged to attend a few churches in the decades since becoming a Christian. If I had to travel the world, it wouldn’t be to see the ruins or pride of the nations, but to visit churches as a partaker of the blessing of fellowship. I chose my first Church outside my family when I was born again in the early 1990s. The church went through a difficult season a few years in, and almost all the churches I’ve attended since have had their challenges, too. However, to reduce the overwhelming sense of love from accepting Christ to the comfort we should always have in our local Church means denying the gravity of what Calvary represents. The rule my husband and I live by is that we stand by the Church except if we are fully convinced by God, not being fed well, or for spiritual or biblical errors. It must never be, “For comfort’s sake.”

For decades, the Church has been the most comfortable place for me mentally because I get to taste Heaven each time I sit in that crowd. Now, outside my family, it still is. That does not mean there are not times when I want to pull a few stands of hair out of my head because of my human discomfort with how some things are done, how a leader acts, or how another Christian behaves. I’m sure I’m not on the best friend list of some people at Church either, and that’s fine because it’s all part of the growth process, preparing us for eternity.

We must understand that our reason for going to Church goes deeper. It’s rooted beyond the sentimentality of enjoying the right worship melody or attitude from other parishioners. It’s an appointment with God with a group of people He is eternally committed to. Jesus loves His Church and calls her His bride. Why won’t you want to be there all the time?

Again, attending the local Church is not negotiable if you want to live fully in God’s plan for His people. Instead of planning Church around everything else, plan everything else around Church. We tell our kids this because being there reminds us of what home (Heaven) will be like.

Reducing attending your local assembly to “If we can” denies your children and yourself the joy of partaking in a feast Jesus is committed to showing up to serve when we gather. It’s not like God won’t be with you at home, work, and on the streets; it’s just a different feel, and it’s tied to our obedience to Hebrews 10:25, “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.” My family is so accustomed to friends we sit around at Church that we notice if we don’t see them.

When next you choose to snooze an extra hour to miss Church, remember the millions in the underground Church who would give anything to worship in your place. It’s a privilege, not an entitlement. And the excuse that somebody did something wrong, or the Church I attended eighty years ago offended me is not enough. Change your Church if you have to, just get up and go to Church. It’s your Father’s house, and because He still loves you, allow Him to serve you the goodness He hands out during corporate worship.