Acts 3:2-3

"And a certain man lame from his mother's womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms from those who entered the temple; who, seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, asked for alms." Acts 3:2-3

What do you want when you go to church? Why are you really there? What is it you are seeking? Are you present only so that you can tell others that you go to church? Are you there so that you can play a role that you think gives you some kind of status in your community? Are you there just to keep peace in your family and to avoid the nagging and pleading of your wife or your husband or your father or your mother or your children?

Jesus once asked a group of people concerning John the Baptist, "Who did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaking with the wind? A man, clothed in soft garments? A prophet?" It is an important question for us to ask ourselves: Who are we going to church to see and hear?

If we are going to church just to hear the choir sing or a preacher speak, we are making the same mistake that the lame man made when he was carried to the Beautiful Gate that day. He was looking for the wrong thing. He was seeking alms. He wasn't expecting healing. We also need to ask ourselves some serious questions about the way we regard the people we meet on a day-to-day basis: How are we looking at other people? What do we expect from our encounters with them? So often we approach people the same way this lame man did. We are looking for what they are going to do for us. We are looking for what we can get from them. We aren't looking for what it is that God wants to do in us or through us. Hallelujah, Amen and Amen.