Pizza Party in the House of God

Tuesday night is pizza night at our house, and as I entered our local pizza parlor to pick up our order, a sign on the door caught my eye. “Come in hungry,” it said. No problem there – my stomach had been growling for food for the past thirty minutes. Pizza is great anytime, but it’s especially satisfying when one’s body is calling out for food.

Come in hungry. What a great message that would be to post on our church doors, as well! Having recently started a new job that requires me to work on Sundays, my attendance of late at our regular services has been sporadic at best. As a result, I know what it’s like to be hungry for a good worship service. This negative aspect of my otherwise enjoyable employment has been found to have a definite up side – I appreciate the opportunity to be in church like never before! While I was careful to read my Bible, pray and listen to preaching tapes when I couldn’t attend, I found that there is nothing like corporate praise, prayer and the preaching of the Word to satisfy a spiritually starved soul.

There are certain aspects of church attendance that I no longer take for granted. I hug necks and spend extra time in conversation with people that I used to just wave to in passing, as I find that I’ve been craving the fellowship of other believers. I delight in the nuggets of truth God sets before me to feast on in the pastor’s message. And I feed off the excitement, inspiration and joy to be found in our worship service like never before. Spiritual food simply tastes better when you’re hungry for God.

As I exited the pizza parlor with two steaming boxes in hand, I noticed that the reverse side of the sign on the door said, “Come back soon.” Next Tuesday I may find myself back at one or another of the many pizza places in town…but next Sunday will definitely find me back at church!

Thankfully I don’t have to wait a week to taste again the presence of God. The door to His heart is always open, and He always has something wonderful to bring to the table when I come to visit.

Come in hungry. Come back soon. You’ll be glad you did.

“Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.”

(Psalm 34:8 NIV)

Abounding in Love

Our Wednesday night church service took a somber turn when a middle-age man came to the front of the sanctuary to speak to the pastor. Sobbing, he said that he’d just been told that his son had been killed in a car wreck in a nearby town. He’d been asked to come to the mortuary and identify the body, but he had no gas money to get there. Our minister hugged the man, cried along with him, and then asked if he’d like him to go with him on his gruesome task. Shaking his head no, he wiped his eyes, thanked the congregation for the money that had quickly been gathered and shoved into his pocket while the men of the church gathered around him in prayer, and left the building.

Some days later we found out that the whole situation had been a hoax. Some in the congregation were angry to learn that they’d been taken advantage of by a con man who played on the sympathies of a compassionate crowd to raise a few dollars for himself. But my husband suggested that perhaps the scenario had been a test to see how we would react to someone needing our help. It reminded us of the “secret shoppers” who come to the grocery store in which I work. Their identities a secret, they act like regular customers and then later grade the employees on how well they performed their duties.

It’s better to lose some cash in a con game of some sort than to have God find us lacking in compassion in a true time of need.

“Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.”
(Hebrews 13:2 RSV)