When I was kid, soda was a rare treat. We didn’t get to drink it often, and when we did, we usually had whatever was on sale at the grocery store that week. My favorite soda as a kid was Pepsi. I write all of this to say that I liked Pepsi Cola, but I didn’t get to drink it a lot, which made it a treat to be savored.
You know one thing that I thought was great? I liked popping open the lid on the can and smelling the strong, sweet Pepsi fragrance that was released. Maybe I looked a little weird sniffing the top of the can, but I was a weird kid anyway, so what do you do?
Imagine, dear reader, if I stopped there. Imagine if I just caught a few whiffs of that wonderful Pepsi smell, said, “Man, that’s nice,” then threw the can away.
Ya know, it still would have been a good experience, but it wouldn’t have been as good as it could have been.
How is this anything like Christianity?
I’m glad I asked.
I was thinking recently about Easter and Christmas church attenders. Why do people skip church 50 weeks out of the year but show up on Easter and Christmas? I don’t know. Somebody else can blog about that. But here is the tie in to what I wrote above: It’s great that they are coming on these two Sundays. They are honoring their faith, and maybe they’re being inspired a little bit. Perhaps it gives them some peace that there is some kind of plan to the universe.
What they have is good, but–like with the can of Pepsi–there is so much more that they could be enjoying. They could experience the love and sense of community that involvement in a local church can offer. More importantly, they could gain a greater opportunity to grow into a relationship with Christ rather than just have Him as Someone they pay their respects to a couple of times a year. They could enjoy the peace and hope that a true relationship with Christ offers the believer.
A lot of people value flexibility and independence, but digging in deep and being committed to something has its merits, too. Don’t be content with being an Easter and Christmas Christian; there is so much more for you to experience than just that.