Christianity is Not About Sundays
By Pastor Brendan Bagnell
We are now entering our fifth week since President Trump issued a national disaster declaration. Immediately following that declaration, we began streaming our Sunday services in an online-only format.
We initially hoped this online-only format would only last a week or two. At that time, we certainly expected to have in-person Easter services. As we enter Easter week, not only are we aware that we are going to have our first online-only Easter service, we are planning online-only services into May.
However, we know that we will be meeting again, in-person on Sundays very soon. That is not in doubt — it is not a matter of “if”; it is just a matter of “when.”
As we navigate this new and unique season, I have been thinking of what we can learn. God obviously knew this season was coming, and He has allowed it to happen. I don’t pretend to know the fullness of “why” God has allowed it to occur, but I do believe there are lessons that God wants us to learn about Him and His purposes.
There is one lesson I believe the Lord wants us to learn. It is how dependent we, as Christians, have become on Sunday services. This is not to say we shouldn’t have Sunday services. Instead, we need a reminder that Christianity is not about Sunday. It’s about our relationship with Jesus.
Too often, we relegate our faith to our religious activities. Now, when those activities are interrupted, we can experience a sense of disconnection to God. That sense of disconnection is an indication that our dependency was placed on the wrong thing. Sunday is an essential aspect of our relationship with God, but it is not the foundation of that relationship.
The Gospel teaches us that when Jesus died on the cross, the veil in the temple was torn in two (Matthew 27:51). This symbolized the removal of the separation between God and His people. It also ended the need for religious rituals to commune with God.
Today, because of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, we can come boldly before the throne of grace, where we will receive mercy (Hebrews 4:16). We can even do it when it’s not Sunday! We can do it when we can’t come together in-person on Sunday. In fact, we can do it 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and 365 days a year.
I want to encourage you today. If you have sensed a disconnect in your relationship to God, take a moment right now and meet in-person with Jesus. He requires no social distancing. In fact, He wants to meet with you more than you want to meet with Him.
If we as Christians learn to grow closer to God during this unique season when we have to be separated from each other, when we come together again, it won’t be like it was. It will be better! The reason it will be better is because we will be better because Jesus makes us better! That’s what Christianity is all about.
