This past week, our church had our annual fall outreach activity. It is a three-night ordeal where we bless the children with copious amounts of candy but, to get it, they must go through an interactive journey through the Bible. Over the course of 45 minutes they walk from room to room. While there they hear stories from biblical characters such as Noah, Jonah, Moses, Queen Esther, and finally. I was a part of the last group on the first night of our presentation. At the end there is a crucifixion scene that leads into a tomb scene and, eventually, Jesus being raised from the dead. The scene starts with a clip of the crucifixion from The Passion of the Christ. After two minutes it leads to an actual scene being portrayed right in front of their eyes as someone from our church hangs on the cross. I sat there that night and watched through tearful eyes as he was beaten, mistreated, and abused on screen then died in front of my eyes on the stage of our sanctuary. The soldiers removed him from the cross, moved him to the tomb scene, and I continued to sit there being reminded of the sacrifice that was made that day. Those few minutes helped me realize my relationship with God has become a little routine and challenged me to do better. When I came in for church on Sunday and was preparing for the service I noticed some leftover blood stains on the carpet. My initial thought was that I needed to clean the floor and remove the stain. Just as quickly as that thought came, it was replaced with another. Instantly, I changed my mind and decided to leave it.

I grew up in church. I was inadvertently involved in ministry before I was ever born as my mom was the church pianist. Church is all I’ve ever known. It would be easy for me to become bored with it all. I dare say there’s not a story from the Bible I haven’t read, preached, or have preached myself over my lifetime. That blood stain on the floor of our stage was a reminder of the sacrifice that was made for the remission of my sins. I’ve heard it a million times but I was reminded in that moment, “For God so loved the world He gave His only begotten son, that whosoever believes in Him would not perish but have everlasting life.” [John 3:16] It’s not some story put in a book to provide entertainment and a climactic moment in a story. IT REALLY HAPPENED! Believers-we can’t afford to allow His sacrifice to become just another story we remember like The Three Little Pigs or Goldilocks and the Three Bears. We can’t allow our relationship to become stale and mundane. If we genuinely considered the sacrifice that was made for us we would be so overcome with thanksgiving it would change the way we lived our lives. I pray I never forget. But if I do, I pray God leads me back to that stain in the carpet.

Closing remarks and encouragement: If I fail to spend time with my wife, our relationship will fail to function on that intimate level. Spending time with her is the only way to maintain that closeness we share. When was the last time you purposed to spend intimate moments with your Heavenly Father? Maybe you need to have your own “back to that stain in the carpet,” moment.

Have a blessed week, my friends!