by Danny Woodall

 dannywoodall@yahoo.com

And when they had fulfilled the days, as they returned, the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem; and Joseph and his mother knew not of it. (Luke 2:43)

Last month we had our annual Fourth of July Dinner at church. The Sunday morning service was full of patriotic music, tributes to our soldiers, and a reminder of the ultimate sacrifice that Christ made for us. Walking across the church parking lot after the service, a young mother asked her five-year old daughter where her youngest sister was. The little girl assured her mom the missing sister was somewhere. A few minutes later, both sisters were with her mom and all was well. I thought about the story of Jesus being left behind in the temple, and how easy it is to lose sight of Jesus at church.

While fellowship is an important part of church life, it should never replace worship. Saying hello to people and asking how they’re doing is important, but the main reason we go to church is to worship God. Most of the people who show up on Sunday mornings are generally okay to be around. The same can be said about church dinners and other outings, the company and food are usually pleasant. However, networking with friends is not the same thing as worship. Only when we present ourselves humbly before the Lord on Sunday morning, can we worship God in the manner we should. Getting worship right is only one hurdle of church life we have to clear.

Many of the things we do in church can be done without Christ. Vacation Bible School, small group Bible Studies, and other church activities can clutter up our spiritual eyesight. We confuse being busy for God and serving God. Instead of crunching numbers we should be stirring souls. We confuse being busy for God and serving God.

Joseph and Mary went to the Passover Feast in Jerusalem, but lost sight of Jesus. No doubt they were beginning to enjoy the pilgrimage to Jerusalem, the family was growing. Ugly rumors had faded, and they could take pleasure in the pageantry of the Passover. We can spend all week at church, attending meetings, planning the next lesson, and when Sunday comes we’re drained. We offer God our leftovers, while we gave our best to meeting our weekly schedule. Among the songs, meeting, and chalkboards we lose sight of Christ.

The same thing can happen in our quiet time. Prayer isn’t thinking things through, nor is it a relaxation technique and faith is not our imagination on steroids. Prayer can become one-sided instead of being a partnership with God. With the right combination of faith and prayer Christianity is more than a lifestyle, it is life itself. The Bible becomes our road map, instead of collecting dust on the coffee table. Losing sight of Jesus is not an option.

It has been said that good is the enemy of the best, the same thing could be said about church; the good is the enemy of the holy. Church things replace the sacred. We forget that we approach God on holy ground at church. The altars represent Heaven’s front porch. We become focused on the wrong things. When we lose sight of Jesus, we lose sight of grace, the one thing that sets Christianity apart from all of the other religions. Mary and Joseph found Jesus in the temple being about His Father’s business, which is what we should be busy doing. When it comes to church, Jesus is the reason for everything.

Copyright Danny Woodall