It’s another manic Sunday morning trying to get out of the house in time for church, with the usual tussle over who gets to climb into the car first, where someone’s other shoe is, and the mini pep talk on “being good listeners during the children’s talk”.
We make it on time (just), and I am ready to collapse on a pew, Bible open and be fed by God’s word after only catching snippets here and there during the week’s busyness.
But this Sunday it is not meant to be.
I am on creche duty.
I have always loved helping out in the creche and Sunday school, long before I ever had children of my own. The benefit of allowing tired mums and dads the time to sit and be taught while not wrestling with a little one is always going to be a privilege and getting to sit and hold newborns or to build and knock down towers on repeat felt like a treat. Don’t get me wrong they are still a privilege as a mum, but when you haven’t had a second to sit and rest in the Word all week and your email pings with a reminder that you will be joining you child in the creche room this Sunday, it has to be said we can often question what the point of going to church that morning is.
One friend once questioned whether she would be better staying at home and keeping the numbers in creche down if she was just going to be looking after her own child anyway. Although it is easy to slip into this way of thinking I have had to correct my own attitude to serving on creche duty as a parent, and I hope the following truths are an encouragement to other parents who serve in this capacity:
1) The Sabbath is special
The fourth commandment is to “remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy” (Exoduc 20:8). We are quick to embrace the rest part of the Sabbath commandment but it can be tempting to lose the “holiness” of a Sunday.
Trevin Wax writes that “Remembering the Sabbath is more than just mentally taking note of what God has done for you. It’s celebrating God’s work in your life and in the world by being together with His people. You go to meet with the God who saved you and changed you. To keep something holy is to dedicate it completely to the Lord. Sunday should be a different day for you than all the other days.”.
By gathering with God’s people in a dedicated way on a Sunday, whether we get to sit through the whole sermon or not, we are still declaring this to be special day, a day of worship, a day that is holy. By showing up for my creche room duty I am still partaking in the uniqueness of Sundays as a day set aside for the Lord.
2) Fellowship is vital
It’s often said that “there is no such thing as a lone Christian”. God’s people are indeed a corporate people and we are made to be in fellowship with God and with one another. On Sundays we express that in a visual and active way by meeting together to worship, pray and encourage one another. Hebrews 10 v25 says “Let us not give up on meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another – and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”
Yes – you may miss out on singing your favourite hymn and hearing the sermon, but you are still able to gather with your brothers and sisters and your very presence at the service is an encouragement to them as theirs is to you. I have gleaned wisdom on Biblical parenting through many a conversation in the creche room and fellowship time pours out of the creche doors in to coffee time and, often, inviting visitors or new members back for lunch. These are opportunities that would be missed if we had decided not to turn up in the first place!
3) Serving others is spiritual
Finally remember that we are called to serve one another and that service is also good thing for our own hearts and spiritual growth! Phillipians 2 (versus 3-7) says “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.”
As we serve others and put them first we are walking in the way of Christ, and by His grace and the work of His Spirit, being made more like Him! One Sunday a month I am asked to put the needs of precious children and their parents before my own so that they can grow and be fed by the Word. The spiritual significance and growth this brings should not be discounted.
And by way of encouragement- those other 3 Sundays in the month, I am eternally grateful to those who do the same for me!
