What If?

I have been pondering that question since Sunday.  I'm not talking about the kind of "what if" you may be thinking of.......what if this happens or what if that doesn't happen or what if.......

Sunday's message from our pastor was about the celebrations of our faith.  He was referring specifically to Baptism and the Lord's Supper.  First of all, I have to say that I'm not sure I have ever used the word "celebration" in reference to either of those events.  In my particular church tradition, we refer to those as "ordinances" of the church.  Your church may refer to them as sacraments.  In any event, I can't remember thinking of them as "celebration", although I am really embracing that thought.  It's a new thought for me, and one that I have been pondering since Sunday.  And a thought which has led me to another thought, which is the subject of this post.....the "what if" thought.

Think for a minute about celebrations.  We celebrate all sorts of things in our culture......birthdays, holidays, sports.....the list could go on and on.  And think about the ways we celebrate......the energy and enthusiasm and planning.  And even the money we spend on celebrations.

The money.  Don't get me started on that.  Back in my day (now I'm sounding like an old woman!!), children's birthday parties, for example, were a few friends over and some birthday cake.  Now they have turned into Oscar-worthy performances, planned out months in advance, with "themes".  The guests even get presents!  It's quite an elaborate event.  One that takes a lot of planning and preparation.  It was a lot simpler back in the day.  But I digress.

Here's the "what if" that occurred to me on Sunday morning as I was listening to our pastor.  What if we - all of us who call ourselves Christians - really celebrated Jesus every day!!  What if we put as much energy and enthusiasm (and money!) into our faith as we put into our other celebrations!!

I'm not just talking about our Sunday worship experiences, but about daily living.  Certainly, enthusiastic expressions of worship could be one of the ways we celebrate, but I'm not really focusing on that. 

Consider the joy of a child's birthday party.  Or a wedding celebration.  Consider the energy and enthusiasm expended at a ball game.

All that is wonderful and appropriate.  But.....what if we directed the same amount of energy and enthusiasm and effort and emotion toward Jesus!  What if every Christian really celebrated Jesus every day!  I'm not talking about walking around with fake smiles pasted on our faces and spouting out churchy words all the time.  But what if, instead of walking around looking like people who drink pickle juice for breakfast, we - all of us, not just some, but all - actually let our faces, and our attitudes, and our words, and our actions reflect the joy of the Lord that we claim we have!!

What a different place this world might be!

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.  In this you greatly rejoice......"  (1 Peter 1:3-6a NASB, emphasis mine)