Is it important to go to church?

A young boy, after service on a certain Sunday, grumbled for half of the journey while he was in the passenger’s seat of his mum car. After hesitating to voice out what was troubling his mind, he finally spoke out. “But why must you force me to go to church with you every Sunday mum? Does being present in church make one a better saint? And please do not remind me of what Hebrews 10:25 says:

 ‘Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.’

 I know it is good to go church, but the words coming from the altar are not rich enough. They do not edify my spirit. All I hear are things that most basic Christians know. As a matter of fact, some teach things unbelievers know. Then, why should I go to a church with you every time?”

The mother, after hearing her son state the reason why he thinks going to church is a waste of time, was dumbfounded. This had the mother worried all through the night. One question kept echoing in her ear: "Is it important to go to church?"

While she was pondering the words of her son, she fell into a deep sleep and had a dream. In her dream, she saw a big creature that held her right hand. She was in shock at seeing this huge creature and started to shiver. However, this creature calmed her down and told her not to be afraid. The creature told her he was an angel sent from God to give answers to the one question she had: "Is it important to go to church?" After she realized the benevolence of this creature - this angel -, she was calm. The angel gave her a notebook and a pen and told her to write down everything that he was about to tell and show her. She instantly took the notebook and pen in obedience. 

The Journey with the Angel

While they were walking, the angel told her that God heard everything that her son said. The angel reminded her that there is nothing that goes on in this world that God is not aware of. 

"For his eyes are upon the ways of man, and he seeth all his goings."(Jobs 34:21)

The angel took her to a room that had a lot of people in it. She looked around and saw someone she knew. “That's Pastor Blake,” she said. “What is he doing in here? He was highly respected and almost everyone looked up to him while he was alive. His messages were motivational and there was not a Sunday he had less than 1000 members in attendance during church service.” She looked at the angel and asked, "What is he doing here?" The angel turned towards her and responded with five assuring word: "He is where he belongs."  “No, he does not belong here,” she contested. “I need to know more about why he is here.” The angel then took her to another room filled with thousands of people. Expecting to find someone else she recognized, she looked around but found no one she knew. She looked at the angel and asked, "Why did you bring me here? This is not the answer to my question." “It is the answer to your question,” the angel replied, “the people you see here were once members of Pastor Blake's church. A lot of them never missed a Sunday service. As a matter of fact, they also attended all mid week service.” “So why are they here then?,” She asked. “I will tell you why they are here,” the angel replied.” “But, before I tell you, I want you to take out the note I gave you earlier and write down what I am about to tell you.” She took out the notebook and pen. The angel explained, “The reason why these people are here is because they failed to have a personal relationship with God. They solely depended on everything their pastor preached. They never made any effort to study and meditate on the word of God, as instructed in Joshua 1:8: 

‘This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.’

So, when Pastor Blake went astray, the likes of those people whom you saw in that room also went astray.” “Pastor Blake? He went astray? How?,” Why? She asked. “Do not worry about that,” the angel explained,” “Since Pastor Blake was not in Christ anymore and didn't want people to know, he studied less of the word of God and preached less of it also. He instead preached more on topic that pertain to the things of the world. His was so deep into lust that he did not care what clothes the church ministers, workers, or members wore to church. He saw nothing wrong with their inappropriate dressing.” “But this is not the case for every Pastor today, is it?,” She asked. “Of course not. God forbid,” the angel replied. “There are pastors that are obedient to God in this present generation but there are only a few of them.” “So is it better to avoid going to church since there are only few obedient men of God?,” She asked. The angel responded, “Of course not, but it is much better to study and meditate on the word of God yourself (Joshua 1:8) and test the spirit.”

‘Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God. For there are many false prophets in the world.’ (1 John 4:1)

She woke up with a new mindset. She realized that attending church services does not get one into heaven but a having a personal relationship with God does.