"After Christmas Sales" or "Better or Different"

This week Steph and I came to a decision. We needed a new Christmas Tree. We decided this last year but waited until this week to get one. The turning point came last year when half the lights went out on our old pre-lit tree. At first we decided to just make do and buy new lights ofr the tree and cover up the old lights with the new ones. So we bought 600 lights for this old tree. It was better at first but it soon became disappointing. You could still see some of the broken branches and the lights which did not work anymore. The duct tape which held some of the branches in place was still visible at some points around the tree. The ornaments didn't hide the ugly spots and it just didn't work anymore. We tried with all our might to make it better and it was, but it still wasn't good enough. We knew the only way to get what we truly wanted was to buy a new one. and we did and now we can't wait for Christmas next year so we can put up our new tree with the new ornaments and the new lights!
This got me thinking about church and why we go. So many of us go to become better. We want to be a better parent, a better spouse, a better employee, a better Christian, or a better person. But maybe just maybe that's the wrong reason to go. There are 100 hundred resources out there that can do the same job, and probably do it better. You see the problem with coming to church to get better is that when we leave we still can see the broken branches of our lives. The lights are still out and the scars are still visible. If church is just a place to go and become a better version of yourself, stay home! But the church should offer something you can't find anywhere else. It should offer the chance to become something new, something different, something which is more like Christ! "The Old has passed away, and look the New has come!" We offer Jesus and the opportunity to become more and more like Him everyday. When we become something new and something different then we'll find ourselves anticipating the next time the doors are open, not wondering why I have to go to yet another service.