Stay Planted and Grow

By Candace McQuain –

My pastor is an endless fountain of knowledge. He is consistently sprinkling out incredibly meaningful and thought provoking words. He never ceases to amaze me in what he will come up with next. One Sunday, he told a story about a woman he had seen when he was out and about. She had approached him and told him that she goes to his church.

Well pastor always loves hearing that, so he asked her what sermon she had heard last and what she thought of it. She then told him that she couldn’t remember because it had “been a while” since she had attended. What he then wanted to say to her was, “Thank you, but you don’t go to my church, you’ve been to my church.” What he did say to her though was this, “Do you go to the gym?” She answered, “Yes”. He asked her, “How often?” She answered, “Very often.” He then said, “What would happen if you just went every now and then, or maybe only just once?” She answered with, “It wouldn’t do any good.”

I’m not exactly sure how he finished the rest of the conversation, but I’m sure you see where he was going with that line of questioning.

Building an intimate relationship with Christ is indeed a lot like building muscle tone at the gym. If we want a true and meaningful relationship with Him, just going to church one Sunday and then taking a couple weeks or months off before heading back again, isn’t going to cut it. Just like muscles that aren’t worked out regularly, our hearts and minds can become weak and vulnerable.

As regulars we become planted and when we do, our roots (faith) can extend, thick and strong.

From experience I can tell you that finding the church of your dreams is a lot like finding the man or woman of your dreams. The first time you meet him or her you get warm fuzzies all over and you can’t wait to see them again. Now the date wasn’t perfect, but you knew down deep in your heart that they were the one for you. Finding a church home is the same way. No church is perfect, but God is, and He is behind everything. So if your heart is telling you to attend that church up the street again or the one your sister has been telling you about for months, try it. These are the vessels God is using to get you there or to get you to return.

Once you’re there and you feel those warm fuzzies, because I know you will, let yourself fall in love and become committed.

Stay planted, and let yourself grow.

“They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit”  (Jeremiah 17:8 NIV).