Chasing Wisdom by Daniel GrotheSample

In peacetime—that is, when things are going well—too many of us live like fools. When our bills are being paid on time and the children are relatively healthy, when work feels like it’s clipping along and all we can see in the future is a bright horizon, we should be thankful. But we should also beware. These are the moments when it’s easy to get sloppy. We begin to befriend the status quo. We take the path of least resistance. We take the low road simply because it requires less from us. And as much as we hate unimaginative clichés like the ones I’ve just used, we look up one day to discover that we’ve actually been living one. Sadly, sometimes only a crisis can wake us up. . . .

If you follow Jesus, get yourself up on Sunday mornings, wash your face, and go to church. Put yourself in the way of the saints who have what you need. Realize that in staying away from the church, you are missing out. And go to church so you can put yourself in the way of those who need what you have. Realize also that when you stay away from the church, others are missing out. Every week, come ready to give and to receive.

Don’t be foolish in peacetime. Be wise. Gather with the saints. Fall in love with the church. When you go to church, make it your goal to change someone’s day. Pray for one person. Have a beautiful conversation with one person. Be kind to a rambunctious child. Help an elderly person to the car. Buy someone a coffee and give them an encouraging word. I’m not asking you to make some sort of Herculean effort. I’m inviting you to live out your vocation as a part of the body of Christ. It’s the only way we can grow as Christians. It’s the only way to develop the friends we will need in the foxhole.