December 7. We are late to church almost every week. The degree of lateness varies. Sometimes we miss a few songs, sometimes almost all of them, and on a good day, we miss only the first one or two. In our defense, we do go to the early service, which makes getting out the door on time especially challenging, but it is the only service with a class that works well for Lydia. So, it’s a choice, but not really.

Today we hit a new low and managed to miss all of worship. Every last song. The band was not even on stage anymore by the time we arrived. Our reward: seats just for us—on the front row. So, not only were we late, but we made sure the entire service noticed it.

Why are we late for church every week, yet we make it on time (mostly) to Scouts and swim practice and music lessons? We even get to debate tournaments and swim meets on time, often in the wee hours of the morning. Part of it is that we do not have to take our entire family to those events. It IS an ordeal to get out the door with three children who are completely dependent for clothing, diapering, food, etc.

But if we are really honest with ourselves, we are late to church because of a lack of discipline. There are all kinds of things we could do to assist us with leaving on time on Sunday morning, but we don’t do them because they would involve things like going to bed early on Saturday night and setting an early alarm on Sundays, precious sleep-in-on-the-weekends Sundays.

What kills me most about being late is missing worship. I love our pastor, and his sermons contain biblical truth and challenging, thought-provoking teaching week after week; however, without worship, I cannot be completely filled. Satan knows this and is thrilled that I cooperate so willingly with him to deprive myself of such an important experience.

In re-reading Matthew’s account of the Christmas story today, God drew my attention to the Magi. After Jesus’s birth in Bethlehem, The Magi went to Jerusalem, looking for him. They asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.” (Matthew 2:2, NIV)

They were in the wrong place, but Herod’s interest was piqued, and before long, Herod sent the Magi out to find the baby and report back to Herod “so that I too may go and worship him.” (Matthew 2:8, NIV) Herod had no intention of worshipping baby Jesus, but he knew that is what he had to say to get the Magi to deliver Christ into his hands.

The Magi followed the star until it stopped over the place where baby Jesus was. “When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh.” (Matthew 2:10-11, NIV)

We always hear about the “wise men” bringing gifts to Jesus, but these passages lead me to believe that what they most wanted to bring Him was their worship. The desire to worship this newly born king of the Jews drove them to seek Him and to search until they found Him. Nothing would stop them, and when they arrived, their gifts were secondary to worship.

We think worship is something we do for ourselves, and that is part of it. Worship allows me to experience the presence of God in ways that other spiritual practices or disciplines do not. However, more than that, worship is the only gift I can give to God. It is the only thing I possess that is worth giving to Him. And when I deprive myself of worship on Sunday mornings, I am failing to give God the one thing I have to offer Him and refusing to accept in return, the gifts He has to give me through genuine worship.

Worship should be as important to me as it was to the Magi. I should seek it; I should pursue it with determination; and it should come first—before anything else, no matter how valuable and worthwhile that thing is. I should seek to worship regularly with my church body, not just try to convince myself that playing a few worship songs on my iPod will make up for missing that part of the church service today. It won’t.

Lord, thank You that You created me to worship You. I am sorry that I have not made worship a priority in my life, especially on Sunday mornings. Help me to start Saturday night to prepare for church and to discipline myself on Sunday mornings to get to church on time. Thank You that Your mercies are new everyday. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

“Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker; for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care.” (Psalm 95:6-7, NIV)