Event Planning

This has been a busy past few weeks---every area of my life was just chock full of events! We had grandchildren come and stay, we had good friends come for a few days to visit, we had a birthday party for a three year old, several speaking engagements and a licensing exam. Churchwise, we had VBS, several fellowship meals, singings and a picnic at the lake. At work we had a birthday party for a resident who turned 100 years old, we hosted a red hat rally, several outings to nearby towns, a cake walk and many other events. Everyone I know is tired and ready for some downtime. Personally, I love events! I like the planning and preparing and dreaming about details. (Unfortunately, I tend to be a lot like Clark Griswold in the Vacation movies---usually the event is much more wonderful in my mind than it turns out to be in reality).
It occurred to me that sometimes, many times, very often, we treat Christianity like it is an event. We "pencil" worship in on our calendars so that we don't forget? We figure out what we are going to wear on Saturday and lay out clothes for our children. We plan what we will eat and we remind ourselves to say only good things ---(I mean, there are some things we just don't say when we were are with "church-people"--right?) We write our checks for the offering, we wipe the dust off our Bibles and set them out in the car (that is if we even brought them in from our last "church event"). We plan and prepare and then we attend only to come home tired from our two hour event, relieved that it is over, glad that we are no longer "on", ready to rest. The event is over---oh, it was successful but it is now over! And we begin resting up for the next "event", the next time we are called on to act like church---whether it is going to visit a sick brother or sister, share the gospel with a lost neighbor or just behave like Christ's people should behave.
I really pray that this does not describe most of us. I pray that we all understand that Christianity is not what we do---it is who we are. Ned always says that apple trees don't produce apples to prove they are apple trees, they produce apples because that is what apple trees do! Christians don't worship and behave in a righteous manner to prove they are Christians----that is simply what Christians do! Worship, evangelism, encouragement, righteous living, ministry----these are not events, but rather lifestyles! We don't need to plan to be a Christian---He already worked out all the plans. We don't need to prepare to become a Christian, we just need to do it. Christianity began with an event--the sacrifice of Messiah. That event was planned for all eternity. Now it is up to us to just "be the Church"---all day everyday. every moment, every hour---be the church. Christianity is not an event!

Peace
Neva