We all love church, or we wouldn't be church members. And yet, many of us have those moments (Would you believe that they even go into days and weeks?) when our love for church seems to waver, maybe falters a little and even appears to crumble. Regardless of what circumstance has brought this feeling to the surface, that's when I often find it helpful to ask myself one simple question: What kind of church member am I?
Am I the kind that basks in the progress and the glories and then runs away from facing up to unsolved problems? Am I a fair-weather kind of member that's all fired up—second to no one—when things go well, but who somehow loses his sparkle and inspiration when certain events, circumstances, and people shake him up? Have I let myself get so humanly busy in branch church affairs that I haven't taken the time to support the church prayerfully, metaphysically, as, first and foremost, it should be supported? Why, for example, can't I, like Ananias, be a more dedicated, devout church member? As you remember, he was the one who helped Saul get rolling in his church work.
Ananias was a "disciple at Damascus," Acts 9:10; "a devout man according to the law." 22: 12; So, he must have had both the spirit and the letter, and, therefore, was ready when called upon to serve his church. He simply said, "Behold, I am here, Lord." 1 There is no record of his saying, "Why pick on me after all I've done for my church this year" or "What's wrong with Cornelius? Why can't he do it?" He simply said, "Behold, I am here, Lord."
