What really matters? I don’t need religion or facts or verses or the cross, but what matters the most about coming to church?

Wow, what an awesome question!!! I remember being your age and watching my friends go to church and sometimes even going with them and wondering why. I mean, at the time, it seemed so boring and I didn’t understand the whole point. The preacher just read out of the Bible and he went on and on about stuff I didn’t get … it sounded like the teacher in the Charlie Brown cartoons. In fact, it kind of felt like another day at school! But, now that I’m older and have gotten to know who Jesus Christ is, I’ve realized that the thing that matters most about coming to church is your relationship with Jesus. I know, I know … you said you don’t need religion; neither do I! But, what I do need is a Savior who forgives me for all the mistakes I make! I don’t want a bunch of churchy rules … just someone who can forgive me and say, “I love you,” even when I do something so bad that I think it’s unforgivable. I needed someone who loved me when I felt I was unlovable. And Jesus is the only one who can do that. You said you don’t need facts or verses and that’s all fine with Jesus, too (maybe when you get older you’ll want to know some cool facts or be able to recite a memory verse!). Jesus doesn’t want you to just know facts or spout out a Bible verse like a parrot without knowing what they mean. That means nothing to Him either. Jesus doesn’t really even care that you learn anything! Of course, He’d love for you to learn about Him and His life. But, He would rather have a personal one-on-one relationship with you where you can tell Him all your fears or all your frustrations or all your anger. Or, on the flip side, be able to tell Him all the fun things you’ve learned or the great things that have happened to you! He longs to hear from you so much! The bottom line is: Jesus loves you, even when you think He doesn’t. Jesus wants so badly for you to love Him. He wants nothing more than to have a personal relationship with you. Do you want to know the best part about Jesus? He will love you even if you don’t love Him. He will wait for you and when you decide that Jesus is what really matters and ask Him to come into your life, He will run to you! I like coming to church because it is a great way to show your love for Jesus with your friends and family. It’s a way that we can all worship together and thank Jesus as a group for what He did for us. Just recently, my oldest son told me he didn’t want to come to church anymore. He just didn’t see the point of it. Do you know what I told him? I said, “Okay. I don’t want to force you and push you away from Jesus.” I also told him that when he’s ready to come back, we’ll be more than happy to bring him. But, more importantly, Jesus will be right there ready to embrace him. Guess what? Two weeks later, he decided to come to church again and even joined a Youth Group! He also hangs out with the high school kids after church when they all meet for lunch and enjoys being with “Christian” teenagers. He’s been asking me a lot of questions and I’ve answered them. I’m not pushing him at all and allowing him to meet Jesus on his own. And that is the great thing about Jesus. He will meet you where you are. You don’t have to be perfect to allow Jesus into your life. You don’t have to be good to have a relationship with Jesus. Remember what the Bible teaches us in Romans 5:8, “This is how God demonstrated his love for us; while we were still sinners, God sent His Son to die for us.” He didn’t wait for us to become good or perfect. So, to sum this all up and put it into a one word answer: What’s it all about and what matters the most? Jesus.