Sunday’s sermon was based on Romans 12. The preacher exhorted us to give our bodies as a living sacrifice in whatever we do. We have no priestly caste, where the pastor and church leaders are the religious people in the community. Rather, each of us, whatever we are doing, should do it for God. As usual, I felt sheepish about the fact that I don’t do all that much for the church. I sing in the choir, and I occasionally volunteer for something, but that’s it. There are lots of very active members who really put me to shame.
Then I looked more closely at the reading:
“1Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. 2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. 3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. “ (Emphasis added).
I have been given only so much faith by God, and while I pray that it will be magnified, what I am doing now is all that I am prepared to do within the church at this time. I have not so far felt a call to step forward and participate more actively. Perhaps I will at some point, buy not yet. So I aim to stop beating myself up over being less active than some of my co-religionists.
Also, to be fair to myself, a lot of the most active members are retired or are housewives. And those who work aren’t long haul commuters. They work locally and can get away for meetings and events in the daytime or early evening. In my life, the church is not necessarily the center of gravity due to my circumstances as a commuter. Home and work and going to and fro between them take up most of my time.
Also, at least I'm not one of those "pew potatoes" as the even more minimally active are derisively called.
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2 comments:
Jesus spoke much about the kingdom and very little about the church. Don't beat yourslef up, and don't let others do it either.
I always read that "living sacrifices" line to be about life in general rather than the amount of time we give to the church - whether you're cleaning septic tanks or playing in a symphony, do it all for the good of the body of Christ. As Steve said, it seems to have little to do with the hour(s) you spend in church and a lot to do with how you live the rest of your life.
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