Why do I attend church? Have you ever taken time to consider why exactly you attend church?
It is a fact that people attend church for various reasons, some of which, interestingly, have nothing to do with God.
You should be able to tell your real, not assumed, motive for attending church. It's important. It's called 'taking stock' and helps in charting the way forward.
The person who stands to benefit (or to benefit most) from attending church, is one who does so for the correct reasons; one who does so with no other motives.
It is very easy for a church member to have other motives. It's the way of Satan. The Devil has devised methods of diverting church members from what should be their core focus or core business.
So, every church member should always have their compass in hand. So, every church member must always have their compass in hand, to enable them to take an exact route, not a general direction. This is only possible when one follows the Shepherd, not the sheep.
Here are some examples of reasons people attend church:
- They are born again and seek fellowship, training and edification.
- They are following somebody, although they would rather be elsewhere. They have no choice.
- To them, attending church looks fashionable, so although it's not really in them, they have to be part of a local church.
- They are looking for company; they feel lonely at home.
- They are looking for assistance, healing, wealth, and miracles.
- They want to demonstrate something, whatever the 'something' might be.
The question is: What is the primary motive for them attending church? What is the primary motive for my attending church?
"Once the crowd realised that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum in search of Jesus. When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, 'Rabbi, when did you get here?' Jesus answered, 'I tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not because you saw the miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you." - John 6 Verses 24-27 (NIV).
People were looking for Jesus not because they had believed in him because of the miracles that He had performed, but because they wanted more bread to eat. Imagine.
So, if you attend church, make sure you do so with your eyes on the Master, not on the bread that He can provide; that you seek the Giver, not the gift; that you seek Him, not things. If you did, then everything else would neatly fall into its proper place.
Whatever your situation, learn to work primarily for the food that endures toward eternal life, not the kind that spoils.
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