TGIF

How many times have you said that? Thank God it's Friday! The week is over. Work is almost done for the week. The weekend is upon you. You rejoice that you have made it through another work week and you look forward to what the weekend brings.

What does the weekend bring for you? Does it bring a God-pleasing time with self, family and friends? Does it bring the opportunity to spend time worshiping the God who has created you and preserves you? Or does it bring everything but?

Think about your weekend? Is it license to overindulge in alcohol or drugs? Does it give you the chance to troll the bars looking for someone to have a good time with? Does it give you the chance to sleep late, forget about the family, and see that it is all about yourself? Does it give you the chance to forget about the Lord?

I often wonder about what happens on weekends? For me, it is a time of final preparation for leading worship, final touches on a sermon that is meant to lift people up and guide them in their spiritual lives. Then I think about all the people who don't worship on the weekend. I wonder what is going on in their lives that they don't feel the "need" to worship the Lord. I wonder why they would "despise preaching and His word" week after week. I wonder why all who claim to be Christian don't practice what they claim. If Jesus is really your Lord and Savior, why is it that so many people thumb their noses at Him, say that it isn't important, that they don't have time or just plain don't feel like they want to spend time in worship?

I know that some will say it is because they have been hurt by the church in their lives. They will point to events that make them not want to be in worship. They love the Lord but not the church. Isn't that really a cop-out? Yes there are sinful people in church who have hurt others. Does that mean the church itself is bad? What about the person who has been "hurt," have they been the "perfect" person in their lives? Have they themselves hurt someone by what they have said or done? If everyone that has been sinned against stayed home on the weekend and avoided worship, every church would be empty. We have all had someone say or do something to us.

But wait a minute, we have all done the same thing to others. We have done a myriad of things against the Lord Himself. He forgives us. Why can't we forgive one another? Why do we use that as our excuse? Because we think it is a "good" reason to stay home. At that moment, Satan is winning the battle for you. The more a person absences themselves from the Word and Sacrament, the less they feel the need for the Lord in their lives. And the further they will go from the walking with Him.

All right, I have rambled enough. Perhaps you will worship this weekend. Perhaps you won't. That is up to you. Look into you heart and life. Then accept what you see. Be honest. The Lord already knows what is there.