The other day my wife and I were driving through a section of Rocky Mountain National Park when we saw a random stretch of road where dozens and dozens of cars were all lined up on the side of the road. There were no obvious signs or other indicators that this was a special destination. There were just lots of cars gathered at the edge of what appeared to be a trail that shot off into the woods.
I wondered, “What did all those people know that I didn’t know?” There was obviously something interesting, intriguing, and/or important at that spot. They all seemed to know. But I didn’t know.
This seems to happen regularly whenever I tour National Parks. I’ve seen it at Yosemite. I’ve seen it at the Smoky Mountain National Park. There are often popular points of interest there that I don’t know about, but plenty of others DO know about them.
Whenever I see this, it makes me think about church and how it is viewed by believers and unbelievers. Unbelievers pass by churches on Sunday mornings and see parking lots full of cars that were driven to these churches by believers.
My hope is that these unbelievers will ask the question, “What do these people at church know that I don’t know? What am I missing here?”
Often when I’ve passed a spot in a National Park where I’ve seen lots of cars lined up on the road, I’ll do some research later to try to figure out why so many people flocked to that destination. That’s when I often find some amazing trails with incredible views of waterfalls, vistas, and wildlife. That’s when I “get it” – I understand why so many people journeyed to that spot. And then I go back to enjoy those same sites for myself!
It’s a shame that many unbelievers pass churches and never bother to look into what they’re missing. If you are not currently a believer, I just want to invite you to stop by sometime to check out that church with all the cars on Sunday mornings (or Saturday nights, or … whenever).
You just don’t realize what you’re missing! Life in Christ is the greatest life imagineable. Love. Grace. Forgiveness. Peace. Joy. Wisdom. Comfort. Courage. Community. Truth. It’s all there.
I would absolutely hate it if you drove the road of life without stopping to encounter the greatest experience of human existence: a relationship with the God of the Universe!
Join with others this week to see what it is that they know that you do not know!
Psalm 34:8
Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good;
Blessed is the person who trusts in Him!