What You Hear on Sunday Will be Relevant Throughout the Week

I have often found that attending my college classes greatly enhanced my understanding of the material, an accumulation of skills, and an acceptable test score.  Each lesson was designed to have an application that supported the following labs, homework, and lectures.

Obviously, the same is true of attending Sunday School and worship services.  I often try to remind everyone, “There will be a test, this week.”  Quite often, being “the teacher” has me taking the test also.  We frequently kid, “that if you desire the character of patience, you will have to go through an ordeal that requires patience.”  (I was thinking of this the other day as I stood in line at the local Stuff-Mart)

So last week, my lesson to learn was actually on the order and harmony of the family.  I had written a blog on the Robertsons, as seen on A&E’s Duck Dynasty.  I wrote that despite the differences within the home, they all worked together. 

So last week was a test for me.  After installing a door and finding it did not fit right, I had to come up with a plan B.  Then, in preparation for a getaway with my wife, we could not find a sitter for one of our children, as the original family took ill.  To further complicate things, upon returning from the getaway, the dishwasher needed to be replaced.  The two hour installation turned into three, and upon completion it ran like the Titanic. It leaked. 

Yet the real test was not getting everything to work right or be comfortable.  The real test was doing all these tasks with a right heart attitude.  Did I lose patience or pray?  Did I do my best and unto the glory of God?  Was I counting it all joy in various trials?  What things did I sincerely exhibit thankfulness in?  Did my kids see something redemptive in the experience that would draw them deeper in faith in Christ, or did I blow my witness?

In the end, I did well, but there is room for improvement.  In the end I also found joy in the fact that this world is not my home.  The test came unexpectedly.  And they always do.  Thus as I write, I am thinking of the Lord’s Supper yesterday.  My mind wanders, how will the covenant of Christ play out in my life?  What will the test be and how do I plan to be ready?  How will I cherish the wine and the bread, the blood and the body, and the gospel message?