Void if Detached

 

My dad was a character.  Come to think of it, so was his mother.  Actually, I come from a long line of characters.  It could be that’s why I’m a character.  Anyway, my dad commuted to work for years and passed through the tunnels under Baltimore Harbor.  The Baltimore Harbor Tunnel and the newer Fort McHenry Tunnel were toll roads.  Now they use electronic passes, but thirty years ago, my dad used real money to pay the toll.  But he would buy a book of tickets to save a little money.  He would tear the tickets a little to make them easier (quicker) for the toll collector to pull out.  But occasionally, he would overdo it and completely tear out a ticket.  Not good.  That was because the ticket was “void if detached”.  The policy was to thwart people buying books of tickets and using individual tickets on multiple vehicles.  So dad would hold the open book with four fingers and the torn ticket between the two middle fingers.  The toll collector would pull the ticket, the two fingers would give the necessary resistance, and the problem was solved.  Hey, we as Christians have a similar problem if we begin to miss attending church.  We are “void if detached”.  God knows that we need support from our Christian brothers and sisters.  The writer of the book of Hebrews wrote in Hebrews 10:25, “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.”  Nowadays, with Covid restrictions, it is easy to watch church online.  But soon it is easy to miss a few online services.  And soon it is easy to miss online services altogether.  But God knows our needs.  We need flesh-and-blood Christian friends to minister to us.  We need fellowship.  We need hugs.  We need accountability.  We need the prayers of friends.  Hey, we need to BE a friend to others!  We are “void if detached”.  So, be at church … not some of the time, but ALL of the time.  And be involved when you are there.  Sing loudly and say “Amen!”  And if you have mandated restrictions, still be faithful … online.  Check in online when the service begins and then write a positive comment online when the service ends.  Let everyone know that even if you are quarantined, you don’t want to be “void if detached”.