Before we were married, we were expected to go to my wife’s parent’s house every week for Sunday dinners. No matter what else we had up on the weekend, we had to show up. We’d sit around the TV with our food and watch a show.

A few years after we were married, we decided the standing obligation just wasn’t good news for us. Even though we liked being with them, there was just so much routine that the fun was all getting sucked out of being family together.

So we stopped going on Sundays, and started inviting them over more spontaneously. We’d also say “yes” whenever they actually invited us over. This showed them that we appreciated family; we weren’t just coming out of obligation.

When we had little kids we saw them all the time, which was great. As the kids got older we came full circle, getting together for all the birthdays and holidays, creating a new version of regular family dinners.

Church can be like a family dinner. If we’re not family during the week, because we want to, then it’s hard to enjoy the obligatory Sunday service, watching a show together. But if church really is family, then of course you want to get all your brothers and sisters together regularly to worship Jesus.

Let’s see church as family, not just a Sunday gathering.