The Sanctification of the Parking Lot

Ever sit out in the church parking lot and watch the people as the pull in the drive? It is one of my favorite pass times since you get to catch them right before they walk in the door. I get to ask how they are doing, see what they did since the last time I saw them, find out what their plans are for the next week, and just generally greet them with a smile. I even holler across the parking lot to fellow ministers just to get people to smile at our weirdness. However, have you ever seen them at the stoplight before they reach the church? Some may be in a great mood or eating breakfast quickly. However, the people I tend to see is the one who is fed up with the world for the day. Their kids are being rowdy, and it is too early for that nonsense. They had a rough week at work and do not want to be up this early. Better yet, their car wouldn’t start this morning. Then, as they pull into the parking lot, they pull out that fake smile and wear it with pride the whole way through the service as if nothing was wrong. This is what I mean when I say the Sanctification of the Parking Lot.

For some reason, us Christians have this thought that we cannot show weakness to the rest of our brothers and sisters in Christ. We do not want to burden everyone else down with our sorrows and struggles. We are afraid that someone will judge us for being down and out in life instead of lifting us up in prayer. Sadly, we are afraid of all of this because we have been hurt by someone doing it before. The other sad part of this is that since we act like nothing is wrong and that we have a perfect life, people outside of the church refuse to come to our services afraid that we may do the same. We have taken the hurt that we went through and not project it to those who need Christ as well. Christians who did not want to act like Christians made it where the rest of us act like them. So, what do we do? We need to get back to the scripture.

Matthew 11:28-29 (KJV) ²⁸ Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

Christ calls for us to come to Him when we feel as though life is too much. He calls for us to yoke ourselves alongside him and learn from Him. We are to know how to get out of the difficult situations by watching how Christ gets us through them. We are to rely on Christ for the help, but when we see our brothers and sisters in pain we act like we have never felt the pain they are feeling. When they are looking for help, we act like we don’t know the person who will alleviate it. When we are in pain, we act like everything is fine when we come to worship the one being who knows our world is upside down.

The church is not a place just for believers, it is a place for the broken to come and find help. The church is not a place for the healthy, rather those who are sick with sin. The church is not a place for us to put on a show, rather a place for us to be vulnerable with our fellow Christians and with our God.

We need to get back to being what Christ wants us to be and not just pretending.