dead in the pews

So last Sunday, I believe it was, an older gentlemen in town passed away while attending Sunday mass at the Catholic church. As I spoke to a member of my church about what had happened, they exclaimed how that would be the way to go, right there in church, where you're supposed to be, doing what your supposed to be doing; yet I couldn't help but see something different. By no means am I trying to down play what happened or disrespect anyone, but the only thing I could see was a sad illustration of the state of many church goers; to be dead in the pew.
I believe that for many who go to church, it is nothing more than their weekly ritual. Something they have done since they were children and so it continues to be just that, something they do. For others I believe they go to church out of a sense of guilt, with this idea that if they aren't in their pew on Sunday morning then God wont bless them on Monday. For these, I believe it can be said that they are dead in their pew, or at least they might as well be.
I Do Not believe that this is what God desires. God doesn't want people coming to be with him out of a sense of duty. He doesn't want them coming to Him out of a sense of fear, or guilt. What God wants, what he has always wanted is fully engaged relationship with people who want to be with Him. I can't help but wonder how many church goers are dead in the pews just waiting to be buried.

Eat Your Soup!

Last week, Albertein made some awesome potato soup that I absolutely love and am quite sure I could eat my weight in! It's full of bacon, cheese, and of coarse potatoes and for some reason Jackson got it into his head that he just would not eat it. Well, the way it works at our house is that what we have for supper is what we have, and if you don't like it well, tough. So as Jackson made his displeasure known, I informed him that he was going to have to sit there until he ate his soup and that was that, and of coarse that caused more whining, which in turn caused my temperature to go up and so on and so forth. Anyway, after quite a while of this, Jackson decided that it would be better to just suck it up and eat his soup than to have to sit at the table all day and night and low and behold, he found out that he loves potato soup. As I watched him scarf down his soup that he finally tried I said, "See Jackson, isn't it so much easier when you just do what I ask?" And in my mind or heart, or both I heard God say "Yes Luke; isn't it so much easier when you just do what I ask?"
Why is it that the majority of the time we fight so hard against what God has for us, and yet when we finally shut up and follow Him, we find out that following Him is where we always wanted to be.