The Christ You Love

Is the pastor absent this Sabbath day,
Or the scruffy youth's turn to fill the choir?
Is the dear soul that serves in Mandalay
To show endless slides of its muck and mire?
'Tis Satan who tempts you at home to stay
With day-old beard and idle feet kicked back,
Saying, "No one will miss us this one day;
God can be worshipped from pew or shack.
I am so faithful the rest of the year
That Christ won't care if this once I stay out."
Then tell Him why your conscience is unclear,
And why to wife and kids you're quick to shout.
Foolish one! You cannot delude yourself
That the Christ you love is easy to shelf!

The words of Jesus to the apostles in John 14:21 are: "Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by the Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him."

The love of Jesus has been shown for us in that when we knew and cared nothing for Him, He came to us as a human being like us, lived a sinless life, healed all manner of handicapped people, taught us to live a love-filled life, and steadfastly went to His death nailed to the cross that our sins, not His, would be forgiven forever. Who of us don't want to learn to love Him? If we do, we will surely be loved by His Father, and Christ Himself will not only love us more than before, but He will show Himself to us. Not to mention that He will also redeem us and give us wonderful eternal life in a wonderful place.

In such case, why wouldn't we want to gather in church with others who love as we do? There we are more apt to see Him in person, in the lives of those who love him best and most. Wouldn't our faithfulness be a testimony to Him of how much we love Him?