On December 17, 2015, I sat in the doctor’s office as she relayed the news, “You need to lose forty pounds or you will die sooner rather than later.” Not really wanting to face diet and exercise I replied, “And what is so bad about dying?” I pondered the future as I sat in my chair that evening. My two-year-old grandson climbed up into my lap, hugged my neck, looked me in the eyes and pronounced, “I love you gray-gray.” My wife smiled as I announced I would eat healthy and look for a gym. For the next few weeks we visited various gyms in the neighborhood, looking for the one where we could feel most comfortable and offered the services we needed. We settled on Planet Fitness after reading the first line of their Mission Statement, “We at Planet Fitness are here to provide a unique environment in which anyone – and we mean anyone – can be comfortable.” Since then I have been a regular, even after reaching my goal weight. There are many days when my body says, “Let’s go to the gym,” while my mind says, “Nope, not today – I’m tired – I’m not in the mood – I went the other day and I don’t need to today – no one else is going – stay home.” My body wins and I head to the gym. Sometimes when I go there are people using my favorite machines and I have to use a different one. Sometimes the music is not to my liking. Sometimes the trainer is telling me things I don’t want to hear or challenging me to change my habits. Sometimes the temperature is too cold or too hot. Sometimes I don’t get the right information and feel embarrassed as I stand out from the crowd. Sometimes there are lots of people and I am encouraged by the number and sometimes I am one of a very few. But every time I am there I am uplifted, strengthened, encouraged and leave refreshed. If you are a gym attender, you can relate to what I am saying. Maybe you can see the parallel. There are days when my body and mind fight over whether or not I need to leave a warm bed and go out early on a Sunday morning. There are days when there are people in my favorite seat, the music isn’t what I like, the preacher is telling me things I don’t want to hear - challenging me to change, the temperature is not comfortable for me, or I mess up and am embarrassed. But every time I am there I am uplifted, strengthened, encouraged and leave refreshed. Many will mock me, disagree with me, or try to tell me that church is not essential. They will tell me that church must have short preaching, quality music, professional sound and so the list grows. For me, that doesn’t hurt, but is not why I go to church. Many will point out the church is not relevant, Christians are bigoted and hypocritical. For me, I see sin on this side of heaven, understand the objection,but I still attend church. I often catch a glimpse, a foreshadowing of heaven when I attend church for every time I attend church I meet God. I meet the God who gave Moses His Law and am ashamed. I meet the God who suffered and rose from the dead to give me the hope of eternal life and am refreshed. I meet the God who gives me the words of hope and comfort and am strengthened. If you are a church attender, you can relate to what I am saying. I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord!” (Psalm 122:1)
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AuthorRichard Cohrs Archives
December 2016
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