52 SUNDAYS: What if I feel unworthy?
This year we're challenging our members and regular attenders to attend a church service every week in 2014. You can read more about the 52 SUNDAYS challenge here. This article is part of a series of articles about 52 SUNDAYS.
What if I feel unworthy?
You've had a bad week. You feel ashamed. And the last thing you want to do is go to church because it would be hypocritical. It'd be better to stay at home and hide.
That's not true.
Which part is untrue? The unworthiness or the hiding? My answer is both. If you are a Christian then you are "worthy." And the hiding part? That has never worked.
"the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?”" (Genesis 3:8-9 ESV)
When would it be appropriate to stay home because you've not lived as you should? Never.
The gospel says come.
We gather on Sundays to confess that no one is worthy. No one can claim access to God on their own. No one can say "Look at me. I belong here. I earned this." Quite the contrary, we sing amazing grace, I once was lost, and show me Christ!
Sundays aren't about faking a smile and pretending to be good people. You're right...you're not worthy. At least not on your own. You've been invited because God has said "Follow me" not "You are worthy."
You'd be a hypocrite to say otherwise.
Sundays are for saints who need to be reminded that they are still saints. People who need to hear again and again of God's great love, patience, mercy, forgiveness, and kindness.
Sundays are for saints who are fighting sin. People struggling with daily temptations, large and small. People who often feel defeated, discouraged, and weary.
Sundays are proof of God's power.
Don't believe the lie that you are unworthy. Jesus was made to be sin that you might become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21). You have been adopted. You have been ransomed. You have been reconciled. You have been brought near. Your presence in the house of God confounds the wise and shames the strong by design!