"And he said to them, ‘Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.’" Mark 16:15 ESV
This past year presented its many challenges for going to the house of the Lord in the way we’ve always known it. Congregating in a church building was restricted and/or very limited and we were forced to attend services online instead. As one who sings on a worship team, it was a difficult adjustment learning to lead worship in an empty building while we were being recorded, and then sit among rows of empty chairs while our pastor delivered his message. It caused us to have to take an honest inward look at why we do all of this in the first place.
I was raised in church and have attended faithfully most of my life. Just like anything else, when you do something for so long, it has a tendency to become routine. The reason for doing it kind of gets lost in the shuffle somewhere and we just go along on autopilot with no real thought as to why. Unfortunately, not having a “why” means we’re operating without a purpose. The manner in which the pandemic brought everything to a screeching halt caused me to stop and evaluate my why.
I have to be honest and say that before the whole pandemic announced itself, I struggled with being on a recorded broadcast for all the world to see. For some reason, it just felt self-promoting to me. Why do we have to post ourselves having church on social media? That’s my personal life and it doesn’t need to be shared with the masses. Here’s the thing – I’m sure I wouldn’t have minded it if I weren’t the one on camera, but I was, and I did. So then, what was the real problem here?
In my evaluation, I began to realize that the world’s crisis created a desperation in thousands of people searching for hope. I realized that I had the answer to the thing they were searching for. I realized I had my eyes on myself and my own insecurities instead of having my eyes on the Savior and remembering I had something to offer to those who were seeking.
We are instructed not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together. We are also instructed to go into all the world and preach the gospel. For so long, going to church meant we were confined to our four walls. It was just us, gathering in His name to worship God and fellowship with one another. But think about the incredible opportunity the church has been given with at such a time as this. People that have never stepped foot inside of a church building are now turning to the church for answers. The church is broadcasting services 24/7 like we’ve never seen before, from every social media platform available. All of a sudden, our places of worship have become a network that has the ability to go out into all the world proclaiming the gospel of Christ. Our purpose of Sunday morning gatherings has transformed from just the assembling of the saints, into worldwide distribution centers of the Good News. How exciting is that!? As we are going into the house of the Lord, we are simultaneously going into all the world!
Are you ready? Let’s go!!
Scriptures
"And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come." Matthew 24:14 (ESV)
“I was glad when they said unto me, let us go into the house of the Lord.” Psalm 122:1(KJV)
"Not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near." Hebrews 10:25 (ESV)
Prayer:
Lord, you have a bigger picture that we don’t always see right away. Help us not to have a narrow view of focusing only on ourselves, but to keep our eyes on You, our Savior. Your desire is that we gather together with other saints in order to build one another up, but also that we go into all the world preaching the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Thank you for this incredible opportunity to do both at the same time in a way we never thought possible.
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