Choose your verse, which of these two verses do you believe to be of most importance in your life?
“Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.” (Heb. 10:25)
Or this one.
“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” (2nd Tim. 2:15)
In one small way, I may be able to answer this question for you, and perhaps reveal to you why you made the decision that you did.
When you meet someone on the street, a stranger to you, or perhaps only one you hold a slight acquaintance with, and the conversation begins to move toward the things of the Almighty, which, by the way, you should ensure that it always does, which of these two questions do you normally ask of them?
“Where do you go to church?”
Or these words,
“What have you been reading in your Bible lately?”
I believe some of you may be able to clearly see where this is going. These questions reveal to us what is most important to us in our lives, and while both verses and both questions hold value in their own right, they will show you, and I mean this in no disrespectful way, what is more important to you, the people of God or the Living God Himself.
“Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens: and thy glory above all the earth;” (Psalm 108:5)
If you are asking them where they attend church at, two things are prevalent in your thoughts, the form of religion they practice, and the need for corporeal worship, you have, perhaps unknowingly to yourself and with no disrespectful intent, placed the fellowship of believers united together above individual service to the Almighty for His glory. And in all truthfulness not only have you made your pastor happy, but you may have succumbed to the group mentality, the “safety in numbers” mindset.
And, in all honesty my friends, rarely is this type of person willing or able to make individualized decisions, these are those that seek for a leader amongst the group. This is the majority of people.
The one who will ask that person what they are studying in the Scriptures does not mean a particular Book within the Word of God, but a subject matter, what are they studying and contemplating about at this moment in their life, what part, so to speak, of the mind of Christ, of the face of God are they seeking for?
“So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.” (Romans 14:12)
To ask this question makes it very personal, it removes the group mentality, it removes words such as “they and we,” and forces a response of “me and I.”
And in just these two simple questions, much will be revealed about the one you are speaking to.
In my decades of life, I can never recall anyone asking me what I am reading in the Scriptures at the moment, and why, but untold numbers have asked me where I go to church.
When you give your account to the Most High, your church members will not be there, you will have no one to lean upon, no one to help you answer the questions that will be asked of you, no one to point to and say, “These were my brothers and sisters in Christ.”
We are the people of the Most High God, we are sent out into the world to preach, or if you prefer, offer the message of salvation by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and we are expected to be able to stand alone with only the Holy Spirit as our guide as we do so.
“I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” (Phil. 4:13)
Not, “We can do all things.”
Contemplate these truths, which of those two questions do you believe is the most relevant one to ask of those who profess to serve the Living God?
