Recently, I read with great interest an article in The Washington Times entitled, "Pope Tells Catholics to Get to Church". In a letter to the world's Roman Catholics, Pope John Paul II said that sports and rest are fine on Sundays, but not at the sacrifice of attending Mass which is the Catholic equivalent of the Christian memorial the Bible calls the Lord's Supper. The Pope lamented that Sunday church attendance has been declining in the face of modern industrial life. He also insisted that observing the Lord's Supper is good not only for spiritual health but a "grave sin" to miss without good reason. He went on to basically say that Christians who skip the Sunday worship meeting should be told that they are not fully living their faith or sharing in the life of the Christian community.

There is much the Pope has written here with which both scripture and experience agree. There is a message here to which people of whatever faith need to listen. In most communities in America the majority of people are not in church on Sunday. In fact, there is legitimate debate now on whether even 20 percent to 30 percent of Protestants and Catholics in the United States attend church weekly. Of course, many of those who do not attend church make no pretense of being Christians at all, but it is also true that many of those who do not attend church on Sundays claim to be real bona fide disciples of Christ.

If you do not attend church on Sunday, there are some facts you need to consider. Recent research clearly reveals that there are significant benefits and advantages to the practice of weekly attendance at church. Numerous studies indicate that church attendance is statistically the most important predictor of marital happiness and stability. People who attend church are more than twice as likely to stay married! Want a happy and stable marriage? The statistics are in. Go to church! People who attend church are healthier, have fewer heart attacks and generally live longer than those who don't. Economically, one study reveals that those who attend church while they are young have about $11,000 more in yearly income by their early 30's than their peers who didn't find time for church.

Those who don't attend church often picture God as someone who wants to keep them from doing those things that will make them happy. And they think of church only as something that will mess up their weekends. But here are the facts. God is "the Lord who teaches you what is best for you and who leads you in the way you ought to go. If only you had listened to my commands, your peace would have been like a river and your righteousness like the waves of the sea." (Is. 48:17-18) On one occasion Jesus stated that "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath." (Mark 2:27) Every command God has ever given has been given for our benefit and for our good. God doesn't ask us to do one thing that will hurt us. Everything He tells us to do will bring us a blessing, including going to church.

If you claim to be a Christian but you see no need for going to church, listen to what the Bible says to you on the subject. "Let us not give up meeting together as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another and all the more as we see the Day approaching." (Heb. 10:25) God didn't tell the Jews to remember the Sabbath each week just because He wanted to give them something extra to do. And God doesn't tell Christians to meet on the Lord's Day each Sunday just to mess up our weekends. He wants to bless our weekend. He wants to bless our lives. And He knows how blessed we will be if we take time out from work and ball games and recreation to stop and remember each Sunday the God who created us and His Son Jesus Christ who came to save us from the destruction of sin.

Next Sunday - find time for God. And find time for the church. There is a blessing waiting if you will.