Some Assembly Required

I have a friend who loves to put things together.  When she sees the words, "Some Assembly Required" she gets excited.  Once she tears open a box and finds the instruction booklet, it's as if she has found a treasure map.  She eagerly studies the pages and diagrams, checks to make sure she has all the necessary components, and gets right to work!  She then works non-stop until the task is complete, regardless of how much time or energy the task requires.

Whenever she has finished assembling something, she beams like a proud mother.  She has a generous heart and is especially pleased if whatever she has assembled is something that will make life better for someone else.

I admire her ability to work skillfully with her hands, because when I see the words, "Some Assembly Required," I start trying to figure out just how much assembly is required--because if it's too much, forget it!

That's how some of us view assembling at church.  We want to give the absolute minimum effort because we are honestly not interested in putting in a lot of work.  Sometimes, when we do attend church we get caught up judging those who are judging us and miss the whole point of the assembly. 

We'll faithfully put in 50-60 hours if necessary at our jobs, put up indefinitely with the egos and insecurities of our supervisors and co-workers, sit through rambling 4-hour club/organization meetings, stay up all night studying for college exams, but go to church 1.5 times a month and start looking at our watches 30 minutes into the service.

Some of us will wait longer for a table at a restaurant then we are willing to spend in church. 

Somehow, we have missed the point that in order to truly live out the Christian faith, Some Assembly is Required. As Hebrews 10:24-25 explains, "let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some [is]; but exhorting [one another]: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching."  The way the earth is groaning, we truly see the day approaching.

What if we adopted the attitude of my friend who loves assembling things?  What if we eagerly read through our instruction manual--the Bible--and viewed it as the treasure map that it is?  What if we took inventory to make sure we had all of the components necessary to successfully build our life in the Lord--a God-led Pastor, Bible/Bible Study, active prayer life, fellowship with other believers, service to those in need?

What if we were generous with our time and energy, willing to regularly worship God in spirit and in truth, doing whatever was necessary for our spiritual growth and the spiritual growth of others?

If we changed our attitude about assembling, we would be able to proudly beam, like my friend does, at what emerges.  In our case, that which emerges would be the new creation God is putting together in us individually and collectively. 

Self-guided tours, independent studies and solitude all have their place--Jesus certainly sought opportunities to pray in solitude.  But, as evidenced by His teaching, preaching and feeding large numbers of people, as well as His regular communing with a committed group of disciples, Jesus understood the importance of Hebrews 10:25.  We are not saved to live isolated from the body of Christ.  When we are saved, we become a part of the body of Christ, and in order for the body to fully function "Some Assembly is Required."

BNcouraged!

Rev. Karen