Religion at its best

What is going on???

It seems that now not being involved in a Sunday morning church service on a regular basis really gets some people asking questions, mainly those who are attending a Sunday morning church service mind you.

Here's just some of the questions / statements given towards us as a family of late.

• 'You have more faith if you attend church'.
• 'Going to church shows you are a Christian'
• 'You show you love God more if you attend church'.
• 'If you give up something to go to church on a Sunday morning you are showing God you are committed to Him'
• When the bible says 'don't give up meeting together' what do you think of that?
• You should be spending time worshiping God on the Sabbath.
• God loves you more if you attend church

What is going on? Well, probably nothing unusual from people in the local church really because it's probably the same judgement towards us that has either blasted people out of their pews on a Sunday morning or caused most people in Australia to ask why on earth they would bother following a god who just points the finger, which is often the impression given by the people who say they follow a loving god and son in Jesus.

So now i have a few questions.

Where in the bible does it say that going to a place shows you are more of a Christian? Doesn't it say by your fruit you will be known? Is it at all possible that you could attend church on Sunday but be the most unloving un-fruiful person around? If so is it also possible that you could grow and be more fruitful in the community and the people you meet without attending a church service? Where in the bible does it say that the sabbath should be spent at a church service and where in the bible does it say that a church service is where you have to 'meet'?

Can God love me more if i go to church? Can he love me anymore after He gave His son to die for all of my sin and calls me his child? Where did Jesus spend most of His time? Where did Paul the apostle spend most of his time?

I don't know why there's so much Judgement around but maybe it's to justify people's own purposes for what they do and why they do it and i fully encourage anyone to search their heart to find out why the church exists and whether it's the relevant place for Jesus love to be expressed, but having a crack at others because they no longer share or believe in the same values? Where's the love in that?

What really bothers me about all this is that it just reinforces my feelings about the local church and that the very command that Jesus did give, (which had nothing to do with Sunday morning church) - Love the Lord with all your heart and love others as Jesus loves you - is not the first thing on the church's mind, it's whether you attend somewhere on a Sunday morning that's important. How about asking people questions about how there going with the 'law of Christ' rather than the law of tradition and man?