A Parable Explained

The preceding blog post, "A Parable", is an embellished account of an evening a friend and I had several years ago in Michigan.  The basic premise of the story is true.  We did hike to the waterfall, we did skip rocks, and we did help start a fire for a woman and her daughter, if memory serves me well.  In a writer’s course I have been taking, one of my assignments was to write a parable; a story that would convey a spiritual truth, though not immediately recognizable.  The purpose was for the truth to come to the reader later on, as they ponder the meaning. 

That particular evening my friend and I decided to skip church and, with my waterfall book guide in hand, do some waterfall hunting.  We had such an enjoyable time of fellowship together.  I remember that evening with my friend, the joy of discovery, and pleasure of each other’s company, the fellowship we shared, the enjoyment of, in a sense, God’s presence, and even the opportunity to serve someone else in need.  Are not all those things we desire to experience in the house of the Lord, whether on Sunday morning, Sunday evening, or during a mid-week service?

All of my life I have faithfully attended church.  Yet, sometimes God wants to break the routine of our religious traditions and allow us to enjoy Him, His presence, and the beauty of His creation.  It’s okay to skip church sometimes, and it’s okay to be spontaneous about it.

There are two distinct times in my life where God told me to stay home from church.  When I woke up on Sunday morning His voice was clear, He wanted me to stay home.  The first time I did not listen.  The first time He spoke I was in college and had a lot of homework to do for school.  I needed to take time to focus on that.  Instead, I reasoned away His voice as something that couldn’t be from God.  Would God tell me to stay home from church?

While I sat in the pew that morning, for me, the service was lifeless and dead.  I’m sure, for someone else, that service was exactly what they needed.  But, for me, it was empty.  I wasn’t supposed to be there. 

The next time God spoke to me I listened.  I wasn’t going to make the same mistake twice.  I stayed home and had one of the most precious times with the Lord.  I put on a worship CD.  One of the songs was a love song where God is singing over His bride.  I lay on the floor as God sang a song of love over me.  That morning God knew what I needed more than a church service and a sermon was time in His presence, just him and me.