It turned out it wasn’t the swine flu. I visited a lady from our church yesterday at the hospital. For nearly two weeks she has been battling something intestinal. The tests show that it wasn’t the dreaded swine flu. Though, the alternative wasn’t any more fun.
By the time I made my hospital visit this lady had enough I.V. tracks on her arms to make her look like a heroin addict. In fact, one of her visitors (also from church) pointed out that she looked like a user.
But, she was feeling better and we agreed that if it takes getting stuck in the arm to get past symptoms which result in losing 15 pounds in two weeks, then an I.V. is worth it.
Now, as a pastor, I’m not entirely comfortable with the comparison that I’m about to make, but we do need to recognize that our active participation in the Body of Christ is a spiritual I.V. I will allow that there are times when church involvement can feel a little bit like a poke in the arm. Hopefully, it isn’t downright painful, but attending a meeting after work when you have things to do at home, or getting motivated to be at worship on Sunday morning is a procedure that you don’t care to go through. Though, surely not the sermon!
But, if a pastor is willing to concede that local church involvement can at times feel like getting an I.V., then, hopefully you will see that our commitment to a local church is vital to our spiritual health. The Body of Christ, through the preaching of the Word, through prayer, through fellowship, and worship – – together – – these constitute God’s means of grace.
