Sunday & Beyond: The Genesis

In the beginning, all I knew was religion. But God had immeasurably more in store for my knowledge of Him and our relationship.

Sundays are nice, but we won’t see what God has in store for us if we don’t go beyond that with Him.

Sunday school began at 10:00am and service started at 11:00am. I don’t have a recollection of going to church every Sunday with my family since my father worked 3rd shift, but we were present for every church anniversary, family and friend day, Easter service and if there was a special program happening.

I could expect a loose agenda of hymm singing, holy ghost shouting, fan waving, testimony sharing, reading of the church announcements, prayers for the sick and shut in, collecting of the tithe, and I can’t forget the preaching. Hearing a word from the Lord by way of the pastor that would stir something up in your spirit to make you say “mmmm” accompanied with the waving of your hand. Once service was over, we would fellowship with one another before walking over to the education building to break bread or break off from the group to find something else to eat and go on about our day.

I thought this is what it meant to be a Christian along with being a “good” person. Devoting my time on Sunday to attending church with no real knowledge of what it meant to devote my life to Jesus. It wasn't until my teenage years that I began to deconstruct what it meant to follow Jesus for real and funny enough it started with no longer identifying myself as a Christian. At the time, I felt that I couldn’t associate myself with a faith that I didn’t truly have or understand. I went straight to the source and asked God who He was and to reveal Himself to me. I desired relationship. The mystery of God was intriguing and seeing the faith of others encourage me to seek after Him.

Sunday church service was necessary but what I needed was know God beyond the gathering of the saints. I need Him to kick off the start of my work week on Monday. I need Him in my mid-week woes. I need Him leading into the joy of the weekend. I need a one on one with the lover of my soul to fill me up everyday so that my devotion to Him is pure. Sundays are nice, but we won’t see what God has in store for us if we don’t go beyond that with Him. There is so much more to this story of my journey with Jesus and I intend to share all that He has revealed to me. I hope you join along.