I’ve mentioned this before - going to church services is a lot like going to the gym. The particular similarity that I’m referring to is the slow, methodical, and cumulative effect of the behavior.
People who are new to church might not realize this. They may show up for a church service, and once it’s done think to themselves, “Well, what did that exactly do for me? Sure, I greeted some lady who sat next to me. I sang a few songs. I heard some guy read and explain the Bible. But, if I’m being honest, my life is pretty much the same as it was before I showed up.”
Yes. That’s because church attendance is usually more like regular exercise than like getting plastic surgery. It’s not designed to bring about massive changes over the course of a few hours (although I admit that does occasionally happen.) Most often, it is the slow, methodical practice of fellowshipping with the people of God over and over again, the intentional, repetitive practice of singing songs to honor the Lord, and the gradual, incremental effect of hearing a new portion of God’s word each week, that ends up making a huge difference in someone’s life.
No one would go to the gym, do a pullup, and then say, “Well, what did that exactly do for me? I feel like I am about as strong as I was two minutes ago.” Of course you are. And yet, it is undeniable that doing multiple pull ups over the course of many weeks will greatly increase a person’s upper body strength.
So, if you show up at church on a Sunday and think, “I guess that sermon was true, but I don’t feel like I’m any better of a Christian than I was before” that is all right. These practices are lifestyle choices, not surgeries.
I have noticed in my life that talking to a brother (or sister) in Christ usually doesn’t make a big difference in my life. But having a hundred conversations does. Rarely does one sermon revolutionize my life. But having listened to a few thousand of them now, I can testify that sermons have been very helpful to me in living my life for God. And typically, singing one song doesn’t seem like a big deal, but now that I’ve sung to God about 10,000 times in my life, I can say that the practice has shaped me.
Don’t lose heart if you don’t see “big gains” right away. Stick to it. “Train yourself in godliness, for the training of the body has a limited benefit, but godliness is beneficial in every way, since it hold promise for the present life and also for the life to come.” (1 Timothy 4:8)
People who are new to church might not realize this. They may show up for a church service, and once it’s done think to themselves, “Well, what did that exactly do for me? Sure, I greeted some lady who sat next to me. I sang a few songs. I heard some guy read and explain the Bible. But, if I’m being honest, my life is pretty much the same as it was before I showed up.”
Yes. That’s because church attendance is usually more like regular exercise than like getting plastic surgery. It’s not designed to bring about massive changes over the course of a few hours (although I admit that does occasionally happen.) Most often, it is the slow, methodical practice of fellowshipping with the people of God over and over again, the intentional, repetitive practice of singing songs to honor the Lord, and the gradual, incremental effect of hearing a new portion of God’s word each week, that ends up making a huge difference in someone’s life.
No one would go to the gym, do a pullup, and then say, “Well, what did that exactly do for me? I feel like I am about as strong as I was two minutes ago.” Of course you are. And yet, it is undeniable that doing multiple pull ups over the course of many weeks will greatly increase a person’s upper body strength.
So, if you show up at church on a Sunday and think, “I guess that sermon was true, but I don’t feel like I’m any better of a Christian than I was before” that is all right. These practices are lifestyle choices, not surgeries.
I have noticed in my life that talking to a brother (or sister) in Christ usually doesn’t make a big difference in my life. But having a hundred conversations does. Rarely does one sermon revolutionize my life. But having listened to a few thousand of them now, I can testify that sermons have been very helpful to me in living my life for God. And typically, singing one song doesn’t seem like a big deal, but now that I’ve sung to God about 10,000 times in my life, I can say that the practice has shaped me.
Don’t lose heart if you don’t see “big gains” right away. Stick to it. “Train yourself in godliness, for the training of the body has a limited benefit, but godliness is beneficial in every way, since it hold promise for the present life and also for the life to come.” (1 Timothy 4:8)
