I’ve had this thought rattling around my head for a while now, and I’m not sure, even now, that I have it all put together. It might even be a few different thoughts that don’t really fit together. Basically, I was thinking about ways to help brethren see the value in communion and the weekly assembly, but those thoughts sort of spun off into different ideas about people who just show up, take communion, and go back to their real “lives” Monday-Saturday, giving no more thought to Jesus until next Sunday rolls around.

Jesus’ famous words about who is and who isn’t in the Kingdom are often taught from the negative perspective. In other words, we take His statement…

“Not everyone who says to Me ‘Lord Lord’ shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven…”

(Matthew 7:21)

And we teach who WON’T BE or who ISN’T part of God’s Kingdom: “Not everyone who calls Jesus Lord.” It’s true. Those are Jesus’ words. But the point Jesus is making is not who won’t belong to Him, but to explain the kind of people who WILL.

“He that doeth the will of My Father,” He says.

So let’s take that idea and expand on it:

Not everyone who sits in a pew on Sunday is part of God’s Kingdom. Not everyone who sings a few hymns, says a few prayers, reads a few Scriptures, or sits through a few sermons is part of God’s Kingdom.

Too many have distilled Christianity down to just being a thing you “do” for an hour or two a week on Sunday, while the rest of your week is all about YOU. On the contrary, Christianity is about what you do Monday-Saturday following after the will of the Father! In other words, Christianity is not about just being a person who lives comfortably in the world and just happens to going to church on Sunday. No, Christianity is about daily serving, daily living, and daily following, going out into the world and doing good deeds in Christ’s name.

Having said that, beware not to make all that Monday-Saturday service about YOU. It would be very easy to starting thinking highly of yourself, because of all the good deeds you’re doing. A good way to avoid that would be to come to the assembly on Sunday, sit with other servants, and break the communion bread together. Why? Among other reasons, it’s a good way to help us remember all that Jesus did to serve US. We start our week by focusing on His sacrifice, which we remember weekly during the Supper. Doing so can help us remain humble as we prepare to go out into the world for the rest of the week, to “do” Christianity.

~Matthew