Church is like a bag of potato chips ...

I was talking to a friend of a friend the other day. In the process of catching up and reminiscing she noticed that the one thing that comes up in my conversations a lot is my involvement in my church. She mentioned that she and her husband had not gone to church for years. The reason? They decided that you can pray anywhere so you don't need to go to church to pray.

That got me thinking. Why do I go to church? Certainly my friend's friend was right, I don't go there just to pray because you can pray anywhere. And I don't go there because I have nothing better to do on Sunday mornings. And I don't go because they have my favorite coconut cookies after service.

So here's the deal--this is why I go to church--put in terms that everyone will understand.

Have you ever tried giving up potato chips? It's the beginning of the new year, the diet is in full swing and you head off to a luncheon. In the middle of the buffet table is a big bowl of Classic Lays potato chips (not the baked kind). As your filling your plate with salad, a piece of fruit and some raw veggies and dip you decide one chip won't hurt and it's been so long since you've had any of that crunchy, salty, fried goodness. So you pick the biggest chip in the bowl, pop it in your mouth and chew while making yummy sounds. Then you head back to your table, sit down, and proceed with your healthy meal.

As you're sitting there you notice this little voice coming from the far side of the room: "Come over here ... look at how beautifully perfect we are ... so much salty, crunchy goodness that those ole veggies can't give you ..."

It's the potato chips talking. Teasing you. Mocking your healthy food choices. And before you know it your back for a whole handful, throwing the diet out the window and eating 10,000 steps worth of the little buggers.

You can't just eat one potato chip.

That being said, church is like a bag of potato chips; and as Christians, Jesus has given us one potato chip and said, "If you want more chips, go to church." But we don't just want one more chip, we want handfuls of chips. We crave them, we obsess about them, and we can't get them out of our heads. Nothing else we eat is the same as that first chip. So we go to church, where along with everyone else, we satisfy our cravings for more potato chips.

In all seriousness, I go to church to be with other Christians. I like to be around people who think like me, and act like me, and can help me through tough situations in a way that is acceptable to me. We pray together, sing together, worship together, cry together, laugh together, study together and eat together. We serve the community and the world and we do it all--together.

Hebrews 10:24-25 says, "And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near."

We speak the same language. I don't have to feel funny about saying, "I will pray for you," or "God spoke to me the other day," to my church family. They understand. They've been there. 

We all have this insatiable need for more knowledge. We study the Bible, and don't feel funny about taking the Bible 101 classes over and over because sometimes we just can't grasp the meaning of 2nd Kings. 

They know what it feels like to want to shout from the mountaintops, "I love you, Jesus!!" or to wonder why your faith is wavering when you feel like you're doing everything right.

That's why I go to church--because at church I am around people who understand one of the fundamental rules of life: you can't just have one potato chip.