Half way

The walk from my home to church is a bit over a mile and takes me around 25 minutes. It cheers me along my way when I pass by landmarks I have picked out. I can then say that I have reached a certain point on my journey and have only so far to go.

About half way along the route I pass two churches. One, the local parish church, is on the right as I head for work and the other is just beyond it on the left. Once those are behind me, I feel encouraged that I am now on the home straight. However, another, darker thought comes into my mind. Often loyal church members in poorly supported churches will complain along these lines: "So-and-so passes by our church and two others to get to his place of worship further down the road!"

The implication is that you should support your local cause rather than travel long distances to attend one that suits your taste better. To some extent I sympathise with that view; in fact I've used the same argument myself in the past. On the other hand, everybody needs a good spiritual diet. A clearly Bible-based, Christ-centred church is more likely to offer this than one that isn't. Sadly a great many churches of all different types leave those who go to them poorly nourished.

Often the congregations just don't notice that they are not being well fed. They take it for granted that the diet they are offered is all there is. The writer of Hebrews warns his readers, "Though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God's word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil" (Hebrews 5:12-14).

I'm making a general point, of course, and not saying anything against the two churches I pass on my journey to work! If you find yourself passing by a church regularly, it may be good to say hello and make yourself known, and even join in some activities from time to time if you can do so with a good conscience. Courtesy costs nothing and does no harm.