Happy Friday everyone! Today,
whilst I was out and about looking for fabric for a new quilt, the woman at the
store kept dropping her scissors in between cutting my fabric. She apologized
and said, “TGIF! I’m so glad I get to chill with my girlfriends tonight after
such a long week.” I smiled and nodded that I agreed; it had been a long week
filled with daily struggles, sin, and constant reminders from God that I’m not
perfect but that’s okay, because He is. Her words got me thinking about something. The world looks to the weekend as a time for
parties, family, friends, fun and relaxation. Most just want to check out and forget who they are in the corporate world or job setting, and just be "them". So my question is, what should the weekend look like
for Christians?
I have noticed that so many Believers (myself completely
included!) view Sunday as the only time during the week to learn about God through the Word given by a
pastor (elder) or as the only time for them to worship God through song and tithe.
We come to the Sunday worship service completely
dry and starved of the Word. We either were too busy to think and meditate on
Him during the week, or when life finally slowed down, we just wanted to veg in front of the
tube. We go to church just to check off a box on the to-do list
for the week. Honestly, it’s ridiculous!
We should have a yearning to know more about Him and to want praise Him 24/7
for all of His mercy and patience with us! I realize that this is not going to be completely
fulfilled until we reach heaven, but we should be striving to get as close to
110% as we can while still here.
I love simple anecdotes, so I enjoy the illustration
my dad and some of the elders at my church use as a reminder for themselves and
for us. Think of your favorite sport team (mine would have to be the Flyers or
the Patriots). The coach gives the players a big pep talk at the beginning of
the game. First he criticizes them for what they did wrong during the previous
game. Next, he tells them how to fix the problems and improve there game. Finally, praises them for what
they did right. So when they head out onto the ice, they are in check, they
have a strategy, are full of adrenaline.
In this same way we should look at
Sunday as the locker room pep talk. It should be filled with reminders from God
in His Word and through worship about what we did wrong and why He had to save
us; how we should be living and learning
from our mistakes; and encouragement that what we are doing is correct. Then,
we treat the rest of the week as the game, full of disappointment with
ourselves and others; possibly persecution or degrading things said about us
because of our faith; and just the daily struggles with our flesh (or checking,
losing of teeth and broken noses on the NHL level). What are all of those
compared to the joy we have from the Lord and responsibility we have to share
the Gospel.
So how should we as Christians view
the weekend? Similar to how the woman at the fabric store said, we should just chill,
rejuvenate, and remind ourselves who God is, what He’s done, who we are in Him,
and what He is continuing to do through us (sinners) for His purpose. We shouldn't forget who we are! Sunday is the day that we get to be reminded as a collective church of who we really are and what our purpose is! "But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light." 1 Peter 2:9.
We really
should thank God it’s Friday, because He has given us another week in life,
taught us new things, brought us through those struggles and hopefully taught us more about Him. We have so many things to praise Him
for, so I leave you with this:
John 11: 25 & 26
“Jesus said to her, ‘I AM the
resurrection & the life. Whoever believes in me, though he dies, yet he
will live. And every one who lives & believes in me shall never die…”
