Other churches -- part two

I seem to be unusually aware when I visit other churches, alive to what I might learn.

When I visited another church recently, I was surprised to notice that the people around me had kept their coats on. At first, I thought it was because the building had very high ceilings and was drafty. Then I thought it was because they didn’t intend to stay very long.

Then I thought about the words in Exodus associated with the institution of the Passover: the people were to obey His commands “with your cloak tucked into your belt, your sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand.” God was teaching the people to be ready for, to be expectant about His deliverance, His work in their lives. God’s people were supposed to be ready to go when He called them.

Back home in my church, we come into the church building, move into the pews, take off our coats and spread out our belongings. Suddenly, it seemed to me that back home we “set up camp” in our church.

In this far-away place of worship, I could imagine that the people were aware that they were treading on holy ground; their posture seemed to indicate that they were unworthy of God’s house.

I wondered about the difference in coming into God’s presence with an attitude of being ready to go vs. coming into God’s presence with an attitude of claiming territory. In the New Testament we are told to ‘Go and make disciples.’ We are told to ‘put on the armor of God’ which seems clearly to indicate something other than sitting comfortably.

I wonder if in my church tradition we tend to get too casual with God, assuming we can relax. I wonder if in our arrogance we are acting like guests in God’s presence instead of servants.