While talking with my dad last week, I discovered I am at least a fifth-generation Christian. This is something incredible that few people have. I have the privilege of knowing that all of my relatives who helped make me the Christian man I am today were surrounded and taught by Christian relatives- at least four times over! This is something I can be extremely thankful for.
Many of us who worship regularly here at Karns grew up in the church. In fact, most of those raised “in the church” and currently attend Karns have called this congregation their home congregation their entire lives. Those of us who grew up in the church have had the privilege of being taught the truth of the Gospel since we were old enough to learn about the Bible. We should rejoice in knowing that we have lived most of our lives hearing the Truth constantly and consistently.
However, being raised in the church can become our “Achilles’ heel” for our praise to God. A Christian raised in the church will have attended Sunday morning worship around 4100 times by their 80th birthday if they attended almost every Sunday morning in those 80 years. With corporate worship being a weekly event, this recurring service can become monotonous, and we can make our worship and praise a habit rather than a thoughtful remembrance of God’s love and sacrifice for us. Just think, when was the last time you focused on every word of every song you sang in worship, every word of every prayer, and every word of the lesson in that service? Our gift of being in the presence of God can accidentally become almost meaningless to us when we do it so often and do not have the right mindset when we gather together to worship our Lord.
As we go about our daily lives, let us not take God’s provision for granted. Instead, let us appreciate God’s love and care for us. We can live every day knowing and appreciating that God has given us a new life in Him.