Some people don’t need much of an excuse to stay home from church. If it even looks like it might rain, they don’t want to risk getting a little wet. The hymn writer Frances Havergal gave several reasons for attending church—especially on rainy days.
1. God has blessed the Lord’s Day, making no exceptions for stormy days. 2. I expect my pastor to be there. I would be surprised if the pastor stayed at home because of the weather. 3. I might lose out on the prayers and the sermon that would have done me great good. 4. For important business, rain doesn’t keep me home; and church is, in God’s sight, very important. 5. Bad weather will prove how much I love Christ. True love rarely fails to keep an appointment. 6. Those who stay home from church because it’s rainy frequently miss on fair Sundays, too. I mustn’t take one step in that direction. 7. Christ said that “where two or three are gathered in My name, I am there in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:20). 8. I don’t know how many more Sundays God may give me. It would be poor preparation for my first Sunday in heaven to have slighted my last one on earth.