:here's a bible story we all remmember;remmember when the old poor crippled guy was laying on the side of the road, and the preacher passed him up cuz he didn't want to be late for his sunday service?
don't you hear a subliminal message there, saying that some things might be more important than attending church on sunday? i personally think that the preacher should have stopped to help the guy, and if you beg to differ, i think you're missing the point of the story. it's all in how you interpret it though. there could possibly be as many interpretations of this story as there are people who've heard it.
you have to be careful with putting importance on the bible and church as the strong points in your faith. they can just become walls that you hide behind. there's nothing wrong with going to church, you just have to give some flexibility. everyone has a different story,or excuse if you will, for missing church on sunday. many of us have busy lives. not all of us hit the bars saturday night.
you have to admit, just because someone goes to church doesn't mean they're saved, so that can't be the deciding factor on who gets a ticket to heaven. what about people who go to church for show, or out of habit, or as a social scene?
i've been told quite a few times that just because someone is a "good person", that's not good enough. but i disagree. what if someone is a genuinly good person,who makes others smile,treats others well, and asks nothing in return. are you saying this isn't what God is looking for? i believe the person who lives his life this way can be closer to God without even knowing it , than the person who lives, sings, and breaths "CHURCH" to everyone.
and don't get me wrong. i don't think all church goers are this way.
but think about it though, couldn't a non-church goer be as much of an advocate of God's word as the self proclaimed "i never missed a sunday" church goer? there are extremes of both cases, most people probably fall some where in the middle.
i'm not trying to put you down, i just want you to think and respond.
please try to be open to my thoughts, and i will try to be open to yours. by the way, you're not boring me at all.
bye,
kath.
