What do you think about when you leave church?

What do you think about when you leave church? What is your mind centered on? Besides the trivial thoughts of where we will eat lunch afterwards, there are deeper things to be considered. I believe the first ten minutes after a worship experience may be the most critical minutes of your week. These are the moments where, in our weakness, we can already begin to push the message out of our minds and begin to worry about what's on our plate.

More specifically, do you leave church thinking more about yourself or about Christ? This is a very revealing question. If you leave thinking mostly about yourself, i.e. what you must do to get your life together, improve, stop destructive habits, etc., then the gospel has been missed altogether. As Tullian Tchividjian writes in this post, "the gospel always directs you to something, someone outside of you..." When we leave church thinking mostly about Christ and his finishing work for us on the cross, we are freed from the feeling that there is something more we must do to get more of God. Yes, there are disciplines to be engaged in that train us in godliness. But these disciplines are only a means to an end, not the end themselves. Our trust in in Jesus, not in ourselves. It's the only solution for both the strongest and weakest believers. Confidence, hope, and strength is found in knowing that Christ's love for me does not depend on my work for Him. Knowing this is what creates joy, obedience, and growth in our walk with Him.