Do I come to church out of duty or out of delight?

I was speaking to my neighbor a few weeks ago (on a Saturday afternoon about 4:20). As she was pulling out of the driveway, I stopped her and asked her how she was doing. She said she was fine but didn't have time to talk with me then because she was on her way to church and didn't want to be late. I could tell she was very distracted and said I'd talk to her later.

I actually did see her the next day (Sunday) after I was returning home from church, and we talked a bit more. She said she usually went to church on Saturday afternoons so she could sleep in on Sunday, go out for coffee and come home and read the Sunday newspaper at her leisure. Or - to my way of thinking - she didn't have to "mess up" her Sundays by having to go to church.

I went back into the house and that got me thinking about my own "preparations" for church. Now, I do not have the option of attending Sunday worship on Saturday because it is not offered. I wonder if it were what my response might be. Would I choose to not mess up Sundays with worship but choose rather to "get it out of the way" on Saturday? Where does that put me on the delighting in worship scale - from 1 to 10 - am I a 10? Do I fairly jump out of bed on Sunday, looking forward to going to church to raise my heart and voice in worship to God, or do I roll over and think, "I'd love to sleep late but I HAVE TO GET UP TO GO TO CHURCH." Notice I said "have to get up," not "want to get up." I will admit that on some Sunday mornings, my attitude toward worship is no better than my neighbor's. She at least admits she goes when it's convenient, not because she feels compelled by a worshipful attitude to go.

So today, as I write this, my prayer is that my attitude toward my church-going will become more worshipful and expectant as I prepare for what I will say to God and what He will say to me - prepared now because my heart is filled with praise for Him, for Who He is, and I can look forward with anticipation to going to church not because it is my duty, but because it is my true delight.

Lynn Randall