Sometimes we should ask ourselves if Christianity is a lifestyle or a weekly event.
When I was growing up, going to church was an event. We had to wear special shiny church shoes. We had to wear tights and we always wore a dress. No woman would have dared to wear pants to church. My sister and I had special Sunday bows to wear in our hair as well and little white purses to carry.
Church was a formal place where voices were kept low and children wouldn’t dare to make noise or run in the aisle. Looking back, it seems like we were really big on the law and not so much on grace.
Fast forward thirty plus years and blue jeans are the norm in many churches. People regularly bring their coffee and snacks right into the sanctuary. There’s a very much come as you are attitude. Nowadays, we seem to focus a lot on grace and very little on the law.
I can see both sides of the argument here. Does God really care what you wear to church? But, doesn’t making an effort and wearing your best, show respect? Which side is the right one?
I certainly don’t have the all the answers. But, perhaps the better question is, do we consider Christianity to be a lifestyle or an event?
Do we go to church on Sunday because it’s a requirement in our minds, (that’s the law talking); or do we go because we want to spend some time with other Christians in worship? (that’s grace) Do we come hungry for knowledge and grace and leave so filled that we just have to share with others, or do we show up so we can feel good that we checked going to church this Sunday, off of our to do list?
Do we come in comfortable clothes because we are comfortable with God and our walk with Christ or do we wear blue jeans because we just don’t care to get up early enough to iron?
It seems to me, like most things involving Jesus, that it’s a heart matter. Every individual will have a different answer and while I love that the modern church has embraced grace, the law is still in play. We are still supposed to follow the Ten Commandments. The Bible is still God’s word.
Grace simply acknowledges that we will fail and can ask for forgiveness. Grace doesn’t allow us to go out and keep on sinning, just because we can. I think maybe we have come to see Jesus’ sacrifice as a “get out of jail free card.”
If Christianity is a lifestyle and not a weekly event, then we will try to honor God and love others everyday, not just when we sit in church. We will try not to break the Commandments and live like the Bible tells us to, not out of fear of the law, but out of respect for grace.
Of course, we will fail, but not because we didn’t try, but because we are human. That’s when we can truly embrace grace. I think it really takes both the law and grace to see the entire picture.
What does your heart say?
Have an awesome day!
Wendy 🙂