Let Jesus Be Your Everyday Companion 

Recently my wife and I ate dinner at a rather expensive restaurant which we had never visited before. The only reason we were dining there at this point was due to my wife having won a gift card for that establishment through a contest on a Christian music radio station. It was great food and an enjoyable experience, but because of the cost I am not sure we will do it again, unless we can win another gift card. When we made our online reservation, the website asked if we were coming there because we were celebrating some kind of special occasion, listing several specific options, such as a birthday or anniversary. We ended up selecting one of the last-mentioned choices – “just because”. Apparently this business considers itself to be geared more for an occasional experience rather than being a restaurant customers will tend to visit on a regular basis.

As Easter approaches in a few weeks, we are reminded how some people see church in a similar manner. It isn’t their regular hangout, but they will visit there for special events or significant occasions, such as Easter, Christmas, weddings, or funerals. They may find those encounters to be meaningful, but don’t intend to make it a part of their everyday lives. Those of us who are regular worshipers should welcome those visitors and seek to make the most of those opportunities for the Lord to impact their lives while they are there.

However, this isn’t just the way some people view attending church, but how some look at God or Jesus in general. They treat Him more as someone to resort to in certain specific situations rather than as an everyday companion. When they get sick or receive bad news from a medical test, they suddenly remember Him and reach out to Him. When they get hit by other trials in life, they start looking for Him and His help. Maybe they haven’t given much thought to Him in a while, but at a funeral or in a hospital they are reminded of Him. They aren’t willing to pay the cost of discomfort and guilt over their neglect of Him or their disobedience to Him in most cases, but in those situations they are willing to endure it for a moment before returning back to their usual world where God is either ignored or relegated to a rarely-opened closet in the back corner of their lives.

The good news is that the Lord never intended to be our expensive restaurant for special occasions. He wants to be our neighborhood diner or our family kitchen. He desires for us to come and dine with Him every day. He wants to free us from the guilt that makes us feel bad when we encounter Him. He can replace it with peace and joy as we come into a right relationship with Him. We don’t even have to go to any particular location to find Jesus. He comes right to our door. “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me” (Revelation 3:20). Jesus can be our ever-present guest. He can be with us wherever we go. We can draw strength from Him throughout our day. We can lean on Him when we need support. We can feed on His word. We can look to Him for courage, comfort, and hope.

Jesus isn’t just someone to resort to at the end of life or on some special occasion. He can be our Savior, Friend, and Lord every day and every hour. Open up the door of your heart and experience Him for yourself.