At Home In God’s Home
I often marvel at the way carpet is engineered and designed to hide dirt. Think about it. Carpet is made with just enough shag, texture, and weave so that a dog hair or fingernail can slide in without being noticed. Along with the texture, carpet is designed with attractive, but subtle, mottled patterns so that a small coffee spill, a speck of rice from a child’s dinner, or a lonely piece of sand from a rancher’s boot can fit right in unnoticed. You might say carpet is designed in such a way to make dirt look at home.
Like dirt on the carpet, church is a place where we should feel at home. We want a church to welcome us and make us feel like we belong. There is nothing wrong with that. We do not want to be the only one with that particular hair style, sweater, tie, or lack thereof. When we go to church, we want to feel comfortable talking to our brothers and sisters in Christ, not feeling on edge, wondering what we can say and what we can’t say. We want to enjoy the music, too – not put on a happy face while wondering why somebody chose “that” song. We also want to show up to church with or without the rest of the family and avoid those looks that seem to say, “so, what’s your excuse this week?” In short, when we come to church, we want to be comfortable with who we are and with who everyone else is without a lot of drama, excuses, or insinuating looks. When we come to church, we should feel at home.
In that way, church is like a carpet. But there is a critical difference between carpets and church that must be pointed out. Carpets are specially designed to simulate and hide dirt. Church on the other hand is the household of God and was not given to us by God to hide our sin. When we come to church, we are definitely not trying to fit in with the common sinner of our community. Instead, we come to church to clean up our act and blend in with the righteous cleansing of Jesus’ blood. It is a great thing to come to a church where you feel at home. Just make sure, when you come to church, you feel at home in God’s home, not in the world’s home.