MAYBE YOU DID NOT GROW UP IN CHURCH

MAYBE YOU DID NOT GROW UP IN CHURCH

The institutional church seems to have embraced a tenure system. 

Recently, Belinda and I attended a Sunday morning service in which I was the slated guest speaker.  During the announcements, the congregation was informed of a member’s passing and plans for her funeral service.  The announcer’s laudatory remarks were diluted by a strange preamble: “Although she was not with us for very long…”  Later on, we learned she had been a member for five years.  Headed homeward afterwards, Belinda queried (not with one iota of criticism or cynicism): “How long do you have to be a member of the church to be ‘counted’?”

We are grateful that grace happens on Heaven’s schedule, not ours. 

Some people arrive rather early; others later.  For example, the motivational speaker, Zig Ziglar, known all over the world for his energy, his optimism and his faith, first embraced Christ (not as a child), but in his mid-forties.  Ironically, due to his family’s involvement, Zig grew up in church, but church had not grown up in him.

To wit, Zig found himself with more doubts than belief.  Then something unexpected happened.  On July 4, 1972, shortly after he left a successful sales career to pursue a full-time public speaking career, Zig was taking an evening dip in his swimming pool.  Suddenly, he was struck by the urge to pray.  While he swam, his mind wandered, and he was filled with many questions.  Is God real?  Is He truly present in our day-to-day lives?

Zig floated on his back, staring up into the heavens.  Just then, a brilliant shooting star streaked across the night sky.  He was startled and elated.  An unusual warmth filled him with inner light, brighter than the shooting star.  In a flash, he knew the answers to his questions with utmost certainty.  He also knew that he must share not just positive thinking and optimism in his speeches, but also his newfound faith in God.  Throughout Zig Ziglar’s life, he talked about his heavenly sign.  He was convinced that it was a divine confirmation, a stirring up of true sustainable faith.

Maybe you did not grow up in church.  Perhaps your natural chronology lists you as a full-grown adult, while your spirituality index still hovers at the child or adolescent stage.  By all means, avoid the temptation to contrast your development with others who have more time and experience in matters of faith.  As you apply yourself, you will surely discover that God does not work on the basis of seniority.  Quite the contrary; God honors availability, commitment and consistency.  And FYI, God habitually restores ‘lost’ years. (Joel 2:25)

I am eager to lend my life-verse to you; adopt it if you like.  “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 1:6)  Never ever engage in the comparison game.  Just “grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.” (I Peter 3:18)  Sisters and brothers, be continually blessed!