By: Landon Ditto
“We shall all do well to remember the charge: “Forsake not the assembling of yourselves together, as the manner of some is” (Heb. 10:25). Never to be absent from God’s house on Sundays, without good reason – never to miss the Lord’s Supper when administered in our own congregation – never to let our place be empty when means of grace are going on, this is one way to be a growing and prosperous Christian. The very sermon that we needlessly miss, may contain a precious word in season for our souls. The very assembly for prayer and praise from which we stay away, may be the very gathering that would have cheered, established, and revived our hearts. We little know how dependent our spiritual health is on little, regular, habitual helps, and how much we suffer if we miss our medicine.” –J.C. Ryle
Reading this quote in 1900 (the year of Ryle’s death) and in 2012 carries different weight, doesn’t it? Surely our English brother doesn’t understand the demands of life in 2012. Surely he doesn’t understand that as quickly as I can receive a news update from Fox, I can receive some sort of spiritual "word for the day" and be about my life.
Friends, let’s not fool ourselves. The admonition of Hebrews 10:25 is just as weighty in 2012 and 1900 as when it was originally penned. If we rightly understand that the gathering of God’s people for worship reaches far beyond religious exercise, Ryle’s words resonate deep within. How seriously do we take “missing our medicine”?
