Chreasters

{I was editing the blog and found some old posts that never made it out of draft.  So this was originally something I wrote last April. And yes, it has my old signature at the bottom, lol. I'm too lazy to edit the html to update it.}

A friend of mine had this to say on her Facebook status yesterday...

....thinks that those who are upset because all of the "holiday" people come to church on Easter should go to their own church and name it "The Church of Our Lady of Perpetual Salvation that we aren't gonna share with you because we are so much better than you".... hmmm, doesn't sound very Christian, does it? (you might wanna check in with the Risen Lord on that one)

Now, I am the first to admit that I have crabbed a time or two when visitors have made their annual pilgrimage into my holy land. I get it, I do. You go to church every Sunday to worship, you're there for Bible study and for social events. You volunteer to help in the nursery, and on various committees. You put in all of this time and love and effort and suddenly, twice a year, these very loud people come in with their noisy children and their cell phones that they forgot to put on vibrate, and they sit in the place where you always sit. They don't know the songs and they don't know the rules. It's quite like an Invasion. Dent Dent Dennnnn.

But this, Sally Super Christian, is where you need to shut up and get over yourself. These people aren't any more undeserving of God's mercy and grace than you are. None of us in the church have arrived, and we certainly don't need to think any less of those who only show up twice a year.

Think about this opportunity. All year long, we witness to our friends and loved ones, hoping to share Jesus with them. We send shoeboxes overseas with messages of God's love. We feed families at our church partner in the inner-city at an Italian dinner once a month. We go here and we go there, in our little efforts to spread the Gospel. But a few times a year, they come to us. Think about that. They come to our door, and maybe it is out of a feeling of guilt or obligation, but so what? Do we not have enough of His love to share?

There are so many lost and hurting people in this world. When I think about the worst days of my life, and how Jesus rescued me from them, my heart aches for those who don't know Him. I can't imagine facing life without the knowledge of His saving grace.