I remember when my wife and I decided to get some occasional help with house cleaning. We cleaned the whole day before the house cleaner showed up. I was thinking to myself, why am I doing this….?
About a month ago, I had to go to the dentist. I had a strange desire to receive the dentist’s approval. So, before I went, I brushed, rinsed, and flossed my teeth, hoping I would get a good report.
But last Friday I took my car to the shop. It had a strange squeak. I didn’t pop the hood or wash the car, and the interior was painted with little kid’s sticky finger food hands. When I go to the car shop, I go messy. I go honest. I hope that they hear the squeak. I go with the hope that the mechanic can fix the problem. I know I sure can’t.
So this brings me to the question; How do we attend church? Do you try to clean yourself quickly before you arrive? Or maybe we go as we go to the dentist’s office, brush, rinse, floss…repeat? Or perhaps you go the same way you would take your car to the shop? Messy with fixing needed?
Too many of us go to church and fake it. We try to avoid conversation, but if we must have a conversation, we ensure it is as surface-level as possible. We are afraid the mess that is just below the surface is going to start leaking out. Let’s instead go like we go to the car shop. Don’t let your “Sunday best” cover up the truth of where your heart truly is.
Your church family is there to celebrate your happiest moments and grieve with you in your lowest moments. God has given us a family so that we might receive comfort and exhortation. We have this family so that they might speak wisdom, hope, and grace into our lives.
We are told to accept one another (Romans 15:7) and to “carry each other’s burdens” (Galatians 6:2). We are told to confess our sins to each other and pray for one another (James 5:16). We can’t do these things genuinely if we treat the church like the dentist’s office. But rather, step into the church auto-shop with humble transparency and look forward to the gift of a true, messy community.
Your Turn: Share your thoughts in the comments box below. Thank you!
