View From the Pew - Where are you?

TROWEL & SWORD

View From the Pew
Where are you?

Rev. John Zuidema

Recently, on our holidays, we visited several churches of our own denomination. It was a wonderful encouragement to be able to meet together with fellow brothers and sisters of like mind, and worship with them. Admittedly, some had slightly different orders of service, yet of all those we attended, the gospel was faithfully brought and we were encouraged in our walk with the Lord. There is something unique about our system, even though it has many flaws, it still comforting to know that when you enter a “reformed” church, you can be guaranteed that the Scriptures will be opened, read and preached. We thank God daily for that wonderful blessing.

Yet, it struck us that often the person welcoming the congregation to worship, after leading the minister in, did so in an apologetic manner. Some even had a rather embarrassed look on their face as they welcomed those present and offered some excuses for the many gaps that were quite evident in the pews. Where were so many of God’s people this morning [evening]? Sadly, this did not happen just one Sunday, but on several Sundays.

Let me also add, this absenteeism is not peculiar to those churches we visited, but also in other fellowships as well as in our own fellowship. Sure, one or two are thoughtful enough to let the elder or minister know they will not be attending, but some don’t even have the courtesy to do that. So, the title of this article comes to mind, “Where are you?”

Most of us recognise these words at an instant. They are the words God spoke when He came to the Garden of Eden after Adam and Eve fell into sin. Adam and Eve were hiding because they were afraid. They knew that their Creator God would not be pleased with their disobedience.

When God called out to Adam and Eve, ‘Where are you?’ we may momentarily think that God didn’t know where Adam and Eve were in the Garden. However, we know that this doesn’t make sense, for Scripture teaches us that God knows all things, including our whereabouts at any given time (Psalm 139). God knew where Adam and Eve were and He knew the tragic circumstances surrounding their futile hiding. When God asked, ‘Where are you?’ it was not a geographical question, but a spiritual question. The wonderful fellowship and relationship that Adam and Eve enjoyed with their Creator had been tragically broken. The result was expulsion out of the Garden and ultimately death. The consequences are still with us today.

Thankfully, our Creator immediately indicated that He would do something marvellous to restore the relationship that now lay in tatters. Genesis 3:15 already contains the promise of the coming Saviour, the One of whom all the Scriptures speak. God’s plan of redemption begins by calling and saving a people for himself, till eventually salvation for mankind is realised through the birth, life, death, and resurrection of his only Son, the Lord Jesus. Even today, God is still calling people into his kingdom.

This wonderful, single act of redemption makes our hearts skip a beat. Suddenly life is worthwhile; it gives life purpose and meaning. God’s salvation for us in Christ is really beyond our comprehension. The apostle John tried to put this great event in writing, “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are...!” (1 John 3:1)

Yet, there is more. He sends his Holy Spirit into our hearts and revives us to new life. We need never walk alone again! Then there is still more. We know that one day we will share with our Saviour in his glory and his reign. We will enjoy the eternal life that is already ours, but then in full. All this good news just makes us want to worship our wonderful God. It makes us want to grow in our walk with him, to see it in others. It makes us want to have fellowship with other brothers and sisters in the Lord.

Yet, we continue to be embarrassed by the many empty pews around us and by the general apathy of people attending worship. God’s first question comes back to haunt us, “Where are you?” It was not a geographical question in Adam and Eve’s day and it still isn’t today. Those of us who are in leadership and responsible as God’s under-shepherds do not always know where our ‘sheep’ are when they are not in church. We could hazard a guess. Some have gone to their holiday hut on the beach, others have gone to their hobby farm, yet others are just having a bad “church day” and stay at home and watch the car races. Others just can’t be bothered to come every week... once a month is enough. Others say they don’t like the minister and hence justify the reason why they only come once or not at all.

The sad part is that these people not only do themselves a disservice, they rob God’s people of their fellowship as well and grieve the Holy Spirit within them. True shepherds find it tremendously disheartening when a person’s salvation, which was bought at such cost to their Saviour, doesn’t excite them enough to even attend worship once, leave alone twice to hear this wonderful gospel.

Of course, we do not want to use attendance at worship as a whip or measure of one’s commitment to the Saviour. It is also true that sometimes people attend other fellowships when they are away from their own local congregation. Yet, often the sad reality is that many do not and Sunday is used for driving to their hideaway or returning from it with little or no thought given about attending a fellowship and worshipping the God who saved them from eternal damnation.

Of course we don’t wish to restrict God’s question just to the Sunday either. All of life is one of fellowship with the Father in heaven. In many ways Sunday is a barometer of what often happens during the week as well. God also wants to know where you are on Monday and every other day of the week. God desires to have fellowship with his creatures. If this were not so He would not have sent His Son.

The question that God asked of Adam and Eve is still relevant today. It is not a geographical question, but a spiritual question, one that each of us needs to answer. When it is all said and done, God should not even have to ask the question.

“Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure” (1 John 3:2-3).

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