Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said to him, "We have seen the Lord." So he said to them, "Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe." And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, "Peace to you!" Then He said to Thomas, "Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing." And Thomas answered and said to Him, "My Lord and my God!" Jesus said to him, "Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."
John 20:24-29
“Ninety percent of discipleship is showing up.” That is what a former pastor told me. And then he referred to Thomas as the poster child—not of doubt, but on not showing up. Whether the correct figure is ninety percent is debatable, probably even doubtful; I cannot say. But Thomas’s story is confirmed by the lives of many halfhearted, weak-in-faith followers of Jesus I’ve observed over several decades.
Granted, showing up alone does not make a disciple. But those who do not show up—or show up irregularly, suffer spiritually for their absenteeism.
And of course, there are legitimate reasons people cannot show up consistently. But those reasons are precious few in number. Sickness tops the short list.
At the heart of the matter is how one honestly answers the following questions. “Is a lack of attendance a matter of can’t—or rather of won’t? Is it because of providential hindrance, or of choosing something else?” So often lack of attendance is more a matter of misplaced priorities than of mysterious providence.
Like Thomas, who was not at the “Sunday evening service” on Easter evening, those who fail to show up as often as the Word is being preached miss out on an otherwise important, maybe even crucial, word from the Lord. Thomas didn’t witness the risen Savior so he didn’t believe. In fact, he not only didn’t believe, he refused to believe.
I can’t tell you how often dear saints have contacted me with a question that was the topic of the previous sermon—which they were not present to hear. Although not true in all cases, it is very often true that those who have the most questions or need the most counsel are the ones who attend church the least consistently.
Is this about “guilting” people into attending church more? No. It is about encouraging us all not to miss God’s best for us, by simply showing up.
In these days we hear the phrase: “Fear Of Missing Out” (FOMO). It describes those who, due to “fear of missing out,” are unwilling to commit to other things—for fear that they will miss out on even better opportunities. Healthy, growing believers should have a FOMO when it comes to showing up to church. Why? Because there are virtually no opportunities that are better than being in church: worshiping God in song, praying, hearing the Word preached, and interacting with God’s people.
I pray we are all longing to be back to “in person worship”—soon!