Isaiah 29:13 (NLT)
And so the Lord says,
“These people say they are mine.
They honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
And their worship of me
is nothing but man-made rules learned by rote.
“Lukewarm people attend church fairly regularly. It is what is expected of them, what they believe “good Christians” do, so they go.” (page 68)
During the course of a school year, numerous opportunities arise to share Jesus with my students. Somehow we’ll get off on the topic of God, or religion, or denominations, or church. I will then inevitably continue this conversation because it affords me a chance to share the Gospel with them. Among the many questions I inquire of them is “Why do you go to church?” As you can imagine, I’m assaulted by a slew of differing answers. Some say they’re forced to go by grandma or another family member. Some go because of the girls/guys. Some of them go for the free food or the entertainment value. Some can’t stand the thought of going because of Christian hypocrisy. But the most resounding answer in favor of church attendance is that’s expected of them to be good.
“So,” I pry, “you can do whatever you want during the week so long as go to church on Sundays or Wednesdays.”
“Pretty much,” they reply.
While such answers no longer surprise me, they still cause me to cringe. I don’t cringe out of judgment but because I used to think the same way. Over my life, I have gone to church for all these reasons. And many more. And not gone. Period. But there comes a time in everyone’s life (right now if you've never experienced this before) when they must decide if they will simply keep coming to church because it’s the “right or good thing,” or whether they come because their greatest desire is to collectively worship GOD with other like-minded people. Other people broken and struggling and powerless in and of themselves. People in need of grace and mercy and forgiveness and love and patience. A people whose whole perceptions have been radically changed. A people who've shaken off the dust of the lukewarm and stepped into following Jesus the way he was meant to be followed. Passionately and solely.
Author’s Note: for more on this topic, read pages 68-69 of Crazy Love by Francis Chan and Danae Yankoski
