Do you Come to Church or Go to Church?

And when the demon had been cast out, the mute man spoke. And the crowds marveled, saying, “Never was anything like this seen in Israel.” But the Pharisees said, “He casts out demons by the prince of demons.” (Matthew 9:33, 34 ESV)

In a way, this passage reminds me of reading a modern day news story.  One side believes that Jesus is doing good, the other side believes him to have ill intent or to be doing the work of Satan.  This type of reaction is seen all through out scripture, those who choose to accept, without need for proof (faith) and those who choose to refuse to accept, regardless of the facts (lack of faith).  

I found myself thinking this week about 2 statements that at first glance seem to be the same, yet after taking a closer look, I think there is some merit in them actually being different.  Here are the 2 statements.

1. I come to church.

2. I go to church.

Which one do you identify yourself with if you had to choose?  I have heard people use these expressions interchangeably my entire life and never thought anything of it until recently.  I actually think that these are 2 different groups of people after giving it a lot of thought.  "Come" & "go" are actually opposites if you think about it.  Have you ever heard someone say "They come and go as they please" or other phrases where the 2 are used as opposites?  I know that I have and I'm quite confident that most people have.  "Come" would be the act of moving towards something, approaching, drawing near, or being called.  "Go" would be the act of moving, taking action, or being told to move or take action.  This was eye opening to me because it made me realize that people are attending church with different motivations.  Some are seeking something, some are giving something, some are being called to action, others are being being told to take action (could be God, family member, etc)some are checking a box so they're "covered", and a whole other host of reasons.  At the end of the day though, both groups are at church.  Sometimes, this intermingling of reasons can lead to situations like the one in Matthew 9:33-34, where the Pharisees take issue with Jesus casting out demons.  God does an amazing thing in someone else's life, and someone is there to snatch the joy away from them and tell them it was not God, but something else.  The Holy Spirit moves mightily during service and someone is quick to change subjects to it being too dark, too cold, too loud, etc.  There is something fundamentally wrong here.  This is what got me thinking about "Come" & "Go".  I actually think that "Come & Go" are a lot like breathing, inhaling and exhaling, if you don't do one, you can't do the other.  We should COME to church, with a gentleness, kindness, seeking God, wanting to draw close to God and other believers, seeking what God wants from us and how we can help others, and we should GO out of Church ready to take action, demonstrate kindness, execute God's plan, and serve others.  If we get the order of these backwards, we risk becoming as the Pharisees, viewing everything through the eyes of our plans, not God's plans and how it must be Satan messing up our plans.  In fact, if we are never in the mindset of "Coming" to God, and always about "Go", we will never get beyond ourselves and get to God's plan.