Monday, August 19, 2013

Sunday Morning Sniffles

"I was glad when they said to me, 'Let us go to the house of the Lord'" (Psalm 122:1)

Believe it or not, beloved, I actually do suffer from a condition which I have dubbed the "Sunday morning sniffles"!  As soon as I step onto the platform at church it starts.  Sniff!  Sniff!  From that point on to the end it is "take out the hanky/put away the hanky."

But what is even more amazing to me is that there are actually folks who let the "Sunday morning sniffles" keep them away from worship altogether.  The Kingsmen Quartet recorded a gospel song called "Excuses" some years ago that spoofed this practice:

A headache Sunday morning and a backache Sunday night,
But by work time Monday morning you're feeling quite all right;
One of the children has a cold - pneumonia, do you suppose?
Why, the whole family had to stay home just to blow that poor kid's nose!

It would seem, beloved, that a number of believers suffer from some form of the "Sunday morning sniffles"!  Could it be that perhaps we've become accustomed to going to church with all the enthusiasm of a man headed to the orthodontist for a root canal?

The psalmist here declared joyfully that he was "glad" to be invited to go to the house of God for worship.  Whatever has happened to the excitement of anticipating the heartfelt worship of God?  Does it not stand to reason that the attitude with which we go to worship will be the attitude we will project while actually in worship?

By contrast, a single thought of what God has done for us in Jesus Christ ought to put us into the "glad" category with the author!  Does it?  Are you excited at the prospect of heartfelt worship?  Does the thought of fellowship with the saints and in the Word lift you above those "Sunday morning sniffles"?  There will always be one kid or another who needs to blow his nose from time to time.  Don't let the "Sunday morning sniffles" rob you of the joy of worship, beloved!  Be glad for the chance to gather with the saints for worship!

Ron