November 11, 2020 – Click here to listen
When my son Michael was about one and a half years old, I was feeding him applesauce. He would sit in his high chair at the kitchen table and I would feed him spoon after spoon of the sweet tasting concoction and he loved it. I do not know why, but one day I decided to play a trick on him. I was eating a sour pickle and instead of the sweet tasting apple sauce I gave him a bite out of my sour pickle. I still to this day regret ever doing that. He made a terrible face and started to cry. My wife was furious, and I felt really bad about it. From that moment on he was wary of me when I fed him and to this day, he will not eat pickles, nor will he even “try” many foods. I permanently scarred him for life.
One time my wife and I were trying out a new church in our quest to find a church home to attend when staying in the Atlanta area. On the way to church my wife said, “I read on their website that the sermon for today is supposed to be really good and it is about depression”. After the service as we were walking to our car, I remarked to her that this sermon on depression was as effective a sermon as I have ever heard on the subject.
“Really?” she excitedly remarked.
“Really!” I exclaimed. “After hearing that sermon I am very depressed and in
fact I feel like crying and want to hang myself.” She slapped my arm and told
me to behave.
Unkind or not, the fact of the matter is that the sermon and service were quite boring to me and I wanted out of there five minutes into it, but I sat there like a good soldier to the bitter end, albeit I squirmed my way through it. On the way home I was discussing churches with my wife. Just the week before we had visited another church and that preacher literally screamed at the top of his lungs for one solid hour; my ears were ringing for two days. I wondered out loud if a non-Christian attended a church like one of these, whether or not they would be like my son and sour pickles and never try one again.
Don’t get me wrong I firmly believe that varied styles of churches and preaching are necessary. “One man’s trash is another’s treasure” as the old saying goes. Some people like a preacher that screams and others like a mausoleum atmosphere where one could hear a pin drop with “blue hairs” sitting in the same pew that they sat in as children. Some like rock and roll music blaring and others, like me, like good old gospel hymns and Bible preaching evangelism.
My wife and I continued to look for a church home until we found one that was right for us. We were undeterred by temporary setbacks, but I wonder how many non-Christians or lukewarm Christians are as patient and persevering.
There is a church out there that is right for you and for me and we simply need to get busy and find it. We cannot live life to its fullest without one. If you are currently attending a church that you do not particularly like or have not found the right one, then I strongly recommend that you keep looking.
Don’t be a sour pickle hater!
Hebrews 12:1
Therefore we also, since we
are surrounded by so great a
cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside
every weight, and the sin which so
easily ensnares us, and let us run
with endurance the race that is set
before us…