Neglecting the Gospel

“In St. Louis in 1984, a woman noticed a few bees buzzing around the attic of her home.  Since there were only a few, she made no effort to deal with them.  Over the summer the bees continued to fly in and out of the attic vent while the woman remained unconcerned, unaware of the growing city of bees.  The whole attic became a hive, and the ceiling of the second-floor bedroom finally caved in under the weight of hundreds of pounds of honey and thousands of angry bees.  While the woman escaped serious injury, she was unable to repair the damage of her accumulated neglect” (Robert T. Wenz).

Most of us are clearly aware that if we neglect a leak in our homes or a hole in the ceiling we will eventually pay the consequences, which usually are greater than the initial repair costs.  And yet many of us fall prey to the habit of neglecting our most valuable possession, the gospel message.  How do we fall into the dangerous position of gospel neglect?  Why is it so dangerous for us to neglect the gospel message?  What is so valuable about the gospel message?

As we gather this Sunday to worship our God and Creator may we be prayerfully prepared to hear the words of the Holy Spirit through God’s Word.  May we fight the tendency in our hearts and lives to neglect this vital message: the Gospel.  Join us this week in hearing the words of God to his people.