Text- 1 Corinthians 1:2 - “To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be his holy people, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ—their Lord and ours”
Ours is a generation that is preoccupied with satisfaction. Unfortunately, this ideology has been allowed to affect our view of Church. People go to Church nowadays to check out if they are satisfied with the visage, music, preaching etc.
When people say “That sermon was on point!”, ask what they meant. You will discover that much of their explanation will be focused on how satisfied they were. Seriously, how did we get to the place where the preaching of God’s Word has become more about our emotional satisfaction?
People are now less concerned about how sanctifying Church is, and this should not be. The proliferation of compromised seeker-friendly churches has made matters worse. These churches focus on giving good entertainment, and presenting the gospel in a ‘non-threatening’ way, so that the people will be satisfied and keep coming back.
The big question is, where do the pastors of such Churches want to see more people… behind their pews or in heaven?
Paul referred to the Church as a gathering of people who are sanctified in Jesus Christ. This shows that when the Church gathers, one of our primary focuses should be sanctification.
Why not let’s change our view and shift away from the satisfaction mindset. As you go to Church today, why not ask yourself, “How sanctifying is the music?” “How sanctifying is the preaching?” “How sanctifying are the interactions?”
When you shift your ideology from satisfaction to sanctification, you will certainly be able to delineate between compromised seeker-friendly ‘churches’ and Churches that are Christ-centered, and you will be able to make the best out of your attendance and participation in Church, as far as your spiritual growth and developments is concerned.
Beloved, don’t go to Church today focusing on the amount of satisfaction you can get there. Surely, everyone can make good use of some satisfaction, but not at the expense of sanctification. When it comes to Church, sanctification must be prioritized above satisfaction.
PRAYER
Father, as I go to Church today, help me to prioritize sanctification above satisfaction, so that I can make the best out of my attendance and participation.
Image Credit: thechurchofgod.org