This past week on Thursday night our church had a night of worship. It is called the Catalyst and I LOVE it when I get to go -- as I truly do love to worship my Creator through music!
As I stood there worshipping I was struck by something that I so take for granted. And it hit me hard, my heart feeling completely overwhelmed with gratitude. Our Pastor has been talking for the past several weeks about whether Jesus is our FIRST LOVE, and whether we are fans or followers of Jesus. There is quite a distinction between the two, some of us are reading "Not a Fan," by Kyle Idleman (I totally reccomend it). During the previous week I had also had a discussion with a couple of girlfriends about church in other countries, one of my friends having gone to a church service in Ghana quite recently.
AND so it struck me, as I stood by my nice and comfortable chair, inside this amazing multi-purpose room/sanctuary, with it's nice floors, nice walls, nice roof, nice sound system, nice instruments ... NICE everything ... that I (we) are so ENORMOUSLY BLESSED, and most of the time, most of us don't even realize it. Were it on a Sunday, my kids would have been in Kid's Place which is again in a STELLARLY decorated part of the building (it just got renovated and let me tell you it looks amazing) with many separate classrooms, with an amazing sound system, with a big screen that they use for the words to the songs, with snack time ... and yes AMAZING teachers and an AMAZING program where do they learn about Jesus being their first love.
My girlfriend had just told me about how the church in Ghana met in a tent (if I remember correctly), where ALL of the kids (babies, toddlers, school age, any age) met in one small room with minimal supervision and certainly no snacks, while the adults met in a separte space with a NOT very good sound system (you know the kind you can tell that it is not good). There were no comforable chairs, no AC (remember it is Ghana and is HOT, we have AC and it doesn't get hot that often here), no screens, no roofs, no walls ... pretty much not much of ALL of the "everything" we have.
AND unlike me who got in my nice comforable car and drove to church, most of my sisters and brothers in Ghana walked to church ...
And then it struck me on another level, my brothers and sisters in other nations who have even more obstacles when it comes to going to church, you know the many countries where it is ILLEGAL to worship God and where their life is at risk every time they go to church. And then to add on for some of these countries, the wars and internal conflicts between groups. I am not talking about polite disagreements, but instead brutal and inhuman violent interactions between groups that don't put ANY value on human life. OH I can't even imagine it! A few weeks ago I finally finished reading Passport Through Darkness (so reccomend that too) as it gives us a glimpse into the life that some of our brothers and sisters (and orphans) live in Sudan.
ALL to say that as I stood there worshipping my Creator, I was filled with gratitude of the FREEDOM and SAFETY that I have to worship Him. I didn't have to worry about bombs as I drove to church. I didn't have to worry about someone coming in violently interrupting our time of worship. I didn't have to carefully select my route to church because of me being concerned about my safety. I didn't HAVE to go to church at night or in secret, I could go ANY time I wanted ... I didn't have to ... I didn't have to ... I think you get the idea! I did not have to give up anything to go to church.
God reminded me that being able to go to church, and be a part of a church, truly without ANY worries is a gift that I honestly often take for granted. He reminded me that being able to live out my first love, with the Creator of the Universe, as freely as I can is something that TOO many others cannot do!!
I am SO THANKFUL for the amazing church we are a part of, from the amazing pastors, to the amazing programs, and buildings that are all involved in what we call church. I am thankful in ways that many others in or world cannot be thankful for, I am free, without any risk of any kind of harm or even inconvenience, to worship my Creator any time I want, any way I want, with anyone I want to!! That is quite awesome and such a GIFT!
It also left me thinking ... why then does it "seem" that when I look at the lives of believers in some of the other nations where they have to RISK everything in order to life out their faith, that it is more obvious of their FIRST LOVE for Jesus, then maybe when someone looks at my life. This pondering did NOT create a heart of guilt and shame in me, but rather a heart of evaluation of whether my first love is obvious (to my Creator and to those who don't know Him). This will leave me pondering and reflecting for weeks ...
Thank you Jesus for the GIFT of being able to worship you freely!
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