Church a Chore?

Let us not give up meeting together as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching. Hebrews 10:25 NIV

Preparing Sunday School lessons, Children's church, the power point...I can see where I could think of church as a chore. Just another thing I need to do during the week, a requirement. Did they see I was there today so I can get marked as attending?

For me though church is so much more than any of these. Church is where I get to go and worship the Lord. I enjoy the singing even if it doesn't go so well sometimes, and I am more than likely off key. I enjoy teaching the kids their lesson and a lot of times I learn something as well.

Also, I enjoy seeing my church family. The hugs and handshakes can last quite awhile, and yes when someone is missing I do wonder where he/she is. I might even ask someone if he/she knows where they are. It grieves me when somebody misses a few weeks in a row because missing church can become an easy option. Sure there are a lot of other things one can be doing on a Sunday morning.

I understand when someone has to work. Quite a few years back, we got into the habit of missing church. To help make ends meet I had taken on a newspaper route, my husband and young sons went with me. Every night we'd get up around 1:30-2:00 to drive 30 mins to the location we had to pick up the paper. Then my husband would bag the papers and I'd toss them out the window. We arrive back home around 4 or 5 o'clock just to get up an hour or two later to work our full time jobs. Sunday became the only day we could catch up on our sleep.

Funny, how easy it became not to think about God. To pray my simple prayers if at all and not take the time to learn anything new about Him. Luckily, for us our absence in church left a void. A void that we quickly learned we needed to fill. I soon gave up my paper route and learn to trust God with our finances. We began fellowshipping with other believers who encouraged us.

Please don't see church as a chore, something you must do. See church as a place to learn, worship, grow, and be encouraged. Life can be tough and we all can use more encouragement.