equal to God.
It's sad to see how many people equate church to God and vice versa. Unfortunately, I sometimes feel (and see) that Pastors and Mrs. Pastors (including me) are (can be) the biggest culprits. A few months ago, my husband and I had been rather busy and even out travelling in different directions and it almost felt like we were not in sync. The only solution was that we needed to spend some time together to reconnect - and we had service that day. As I tossed in bed, my mind tussled asking:
"How could I (actually "we") not go to church?"
At times like that, we're reminded that the Holy Spirit is the best gift Jesus gave us. Jesus promised that: "But when the Friend comes, the Spirit of the Truth, he will take you by the hand and guide you into all the truth there is."* Without fail, on this day, He clearly told me: "Church is not equal to God" as He gently reminded me of the Heirarchy in Ministry** - something I've meditated on and written about a few times in different ways. Now it was time for self-medication.
Once you're called into ministry, as every Christian is, God wants us dedicated to our ministries only after our dedication to Him, our spouse, and family - in that order. I'm not saying that we shouldn't go to church on any whim (or whine) but we need to be clear on our priorities. We recently had the privilege of attending the 25th Wedding Anniversary/Renewal of vows of a very Senior pastor and his wife who is also a pastor. One thing that was evident was the level of importance and attention they pay to themselves and their children. The pastor who preached at the celebration talked about it and then said, "when you show your family that they are important to you, they’ll release you to your ministry." That reinforced what I've always believed - i.e. church is not equal to God. I'm sure grateful that my husband was spiritual, sensitive & insistent on that day when we needed time to re-connect. Love you
References:
* John 16:13a - The Message** http://mrs-pastor-and-pastor-mrs.blogspot.ca/2012/06/preachers-wife.html
http://mrs-pastor-and-pastor-mrs.blogspot.ca/2011/12/marriage-comes-before-ministry.html
http://mrs-pastor-and-pastor-mrs.blogspot.ca/2012/09/10-ps.html
http://mrs-pastor-and-pastor-mrs.blogspot.ca/2014/03/twelve-tips-for-pastors-wives.html
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