I go to the chiropractor at least once a week for alignment. There are several reasons I do this: so I can aggravate Jayson Johnson (he's family so I can get away with it); to relieve the pain in my lower back; and it helps alleviate my frequent headaches. It seems as if all the tension in my life lands in my neck. Once my neck is aligned, the stress leaves. To be honest, I need aligning every day. However, there are times when I really don't want to wait in the chiropractic office. Those weeks I don't get aligned, the pain worsens until I absolutely have to go. The longer I put off an alignment, the worse my spine gets outs of line.
Just as our physical body needs aligning, so does our spiritual body - through meeting with other believers in church services. So many Christian people claiming salvation through the blood of Jesus Christ say, “I don't need to go to church. I'm saved. I don't have to go.” No, you don't have to go. However, how can our spiritual body be in alignment with Christ if we never hear His word preached or pray with other believers?
There are times when we can't go to church such as in sickness or when we have to work. There are many invalids who wish they could go, but cannot physically attend. However, much too often, we become distracted by our own willfulness. “It's been bad weather all week. It's so pretty this morning and the Lord wouldn't mind me missing this one Sunday to go fishing.” … “I really need to get this yard mowed. The Lord will understand if I miss this Sunday to get this taken care of.” …. “I just need more sleep and some relaxation. The Lord will understand; after all, Sunday is for resting.” … And I must confess my own reasoning. I really hate having to get ready for church and putting on that tortuous device known to all womanhood as The Bra. “It's been a long week, and I really just want a pajama day and chill. The Lord will understand.” We justify all the excuses by the common thread, ‘The Lord will understand.’ But when we miss hearing God's word preached, we miss our appointment for spiritual alignment. We listen to Satan's excuses without realizing he just wants to rob us of a blessing because he knows we really need that spiritual alignment for the week ahead. It's so easy to give into life and do what we want to do. It's much more difficult to put ourselves aside and do what we know to be right.
The wonderful thing about God is that He doesn't force us. He wants us to want to be spiritually aligned. We can keep our appointment and be blessed; or we can ignore it and become increasingly out of line spiritually. The choice is yours this Sunday. Will you justify your absence again or will you submit to God, The Great Chiropractor, for a spiritual alignment?